Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Miracle on 34th Street at San Diego Musical Theatre

Watch the sound effects in a live musical radio play

Janaya Jones and Jim Chovick
Janaya Jones and Jim Chovick

It is the holiday season and thus the fare has changed. Many theaters repeat old favorites to ring in the festive mood. Besides the obvious suspects, there are newer offerings. For the past five years, San Diego Musical Theatre presented Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. This year, they're also offering a nicely done musical version of the popular movie. It’s a radio play and a musical. In other words, you could be listening to the radio at home and still follow the trajectory. But you get to watch the making of the event with sound effects that are a delight to see.

Cast of Miracle on 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play

The production has snappy deliveries and fast-paced music — there is no time to get bored. Like the radio plays of yesteryear, sponsors from the 1940s, when the piece is set, peddle their wares. These include Tupperware, the Macy’s parade, and companies from post-war America.

Sponsored
Sponsored

San Diego Musical Theatre’s scenic design combines a cityscape with the interior space of an office. The lighting moves from day to night, and the costumes are a testament to the times, putting us squarely in the thrust of America’s post-war hyper-materialism.

But the story takes us in another direction. By virtue of enthusiastic performances, we are transported into an almost magical world. And the voices delight; it is easy to get carried away by the music alone. But in order to get the most out of this production, as with the original 1947 movie, it’s a good idea to suspend belief.

When a drunk man plays Santa in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, an irate Kris Kringle takes his place and eventually works for Macy’s as a Santa. Instead of urging tots to buy the store’s products, he tells them where to find the best deals in town.

Miracle on 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play

The story comes to the fore in the second act. By way of a legal case against Santa, the concepts of faith and hope are contrasted against common sense and realism: idealistic beliefs and weighty practicality vie in a Santa-tale setting.

Is the production worth seeing? If you like Christmas stories during the holiday season, this is a good bet compared to repetitions around town. The music and costumes are well done. And you might leave with joy in your heart. But if you are looking for art to challenge your mind and preconceptions, this might not be your cup of eggnog.

Playing through December 23.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches
Janaya Jones and Jim Chovick
Janaya Jones and Jim Chovick

It is the holiday season and thus the fare has changed. Many theaters repeat old favorites to ring in the festive mood. Besides the obvious suspects, there are newer offerings. For the past five years, San Diego Musical Theatre presented Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. This year, they're also offering a nicely done musical version of the popular movie. It’s a radio play and a musical. In other words, you could be listening to the radio at home and still follow the trajectory. But you get to watch the making of the event with sound effects that are a delight to see.

Cast of Miracle on 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play

The production has snappy deliveries and fast-paced music — there is no time to get bored. Like the radio plays of yesteryear, sponsors from the 1940s, when the piece is set, peddle their wares. These include Tupperware, the Macy’s parade, and companies from post-war America.

Sponsored
Sponsored

San Diego Musical Theatre’s scenic design combines a cityscape with the interior space of an office. The lighting moves from day to night, and the costumes are a testament to the times, putting us squarely in the thrust of America’s post-war hyper-materialism.

But the story takes us in another direction. By virtue of enthusiastic performances, we are transported into an almost magical world. And the voices delight; it is easy to get carried away by the music alone. But in order to get the most out of this production, as with the original 1947 movie, it’s a good idea to suspend belief.

When a drunk man plays Santa in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, an irate Kris Kringle takes his place and eventually works for Macy’s as a Santa. Instead of urging tots to buy the store’s products, he tells them where to find the best deals in town.

Miracle on 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play

The story comes to the fore in the second act. By way of a legal case against Santa, the concepts of faith and hope are contrasted against common sense and realism: idealistic beliefs and weighty practicality vie in a Santa-tale setting.

Is the production worth seeing? If you like Christmas stories during the holiday season, this is a good bet compared to repetitions around town. The music and costumes are well done. And you might leave with joy in your heart. But if you are looking for art to challenge your mind and preconceptions, this might not be your cup of eggnog.

Playing through December 23.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader Music Issue short takes

Obervatory's mosh pit, frenetic Rafael Payare, Lemonhead chaos, bleedforthescene, Coronado Tasting Room
Next Article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.