Santa in a Heat Wave?

Reviewed by Mary Alderson

It’s Christmas in August at Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre. Actually, the stage has been transported to the local variety store/restaurant/dry cleaning depot in the village of Kringle, Ontario, Canada. This tiny town along the highway to cottage country is desperate to attract visitors who will spend money. So they have decided capitalize on the name Kringle and celebrate Christmas 365 days a year to entice tourists.

This new play, Christmastown, is on stage until September 1. With a cast of six, it has crammed in a lot. We get the idea – Reeve (what they call a mayor in small municipalities) Mary is struggling to get everyone in the town on board with year-round Christmas décor and events.

Then many things happen to thwart the plans. There are run-of-the-mill problems like air conditioning breaking down, and letters arriving late. Then there are big, unbelievable problems. The town is reported to the now trademarked Christmas company (yes, that’s Christmas TM) for not following all the sanctioned rules of celebrating Christmas. That results in them being visited by three, or maybe four, strangers outlining the rules for them. Perhaps it’s a nod to Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, but not producing the same results. Add to the mix a woman widowed on Christmas Eve who wants to take her daughter on a paranormal vacation and that teen daughter with attitude, an annoying, giggling tourist, a crazy postal worker, a newcomer/handyman trying to fit in, and half of a gay couple whose adopted baby is arriving the next day. Like I said, a lot is going on in this play. Way too much.

The set is brilliant – a crowded, dusty, convenience store with a broken-down cash machine, lottery tickets and all the chips and candy you need. My first thought was that the set should be kept, to produce Kim’s Convenience in the future, a great play that spawned the TV series.

Because of all the story lines that are crammed in, the cast is playing their characters over the top. There are too many sudden changes in temperaments and attitudes that aren’t supported in the script and need reining in. There is way too much yelling. But when the characters aren’t yelling, they speak softly and quickly and the lines are missed. I fear some of the comedy fell by the wayside. There is supposed to be a budding romance, but we see no chemistry.

The Christmas costumes are well done, including Santa’s helper, an elf, a beautifully wrapped gift, and a gingerbread cookie, but one that is inappropriate and not as funny as it should have been.

In his opening night remarks, the director said there were changes to this show being made during rehearsals that week. While it is wonderful to see the world premier of a new Canadian play, this show could benefit from more work. It might have the potential to be a good comedy, but as it stands it can’t hold the audience’s attention.

Christmastown continues at the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope until September 1, 2024. Tickets are available at the box office by calling 905-885-1071 or visiting https://capitoltheatre.com/

 Photo: Mirabella Sundar Singh (Adeline), Deborah Drakeford (Mary), Alison Deon (Nora), Darrel Gamotin (Sam) and Adrian Shepherd-Gawinski (Jeff). Photo by Sam Moffatt. (Not pictured is Christy Bruce who plays multiple roles.)

 Christmastown
By Briana Brown
Directed by Rob Kempson
Performed by Christy Bruce, Alison Deon, Deborah Drakeford, Darrel Gamotin, Adrian Shepherd-Gawinski, Mirabella Sundar Singh.
Capitol Theatre, 20 Queen St., Port Hope
August 16 to September 1, 2024
Reviewed by Mary Alderson