This charming holiday play, which opened at Theatre Arlington this weekend, not only has the right ingredients to cook up a heartwarming yuletide concoction, but it also adds them to the recipe in just the right amounts.
The story centers on the broken, but not shattered, Waller family. Dad and Mom (Todd Hart and Dena Dunn) are separated, and the kids, Becka (Emily Baumgartner) and her little sister, Boomer (Abby Kaufman), are having some trouble coping.
But when they’re visited by an odd stranger, Mrs. Rosen (Trich Zaitoon), things begin to change in mysterious ways.
While the show’s ending is slightly predictable (although you shouldn’t expect to figure out Mrs. Rosen until pretty late in the game), its course to that end is not the path usually taken in a seasonal heartstring-tugger. We see kids being mean to kids in the ways only they can, parents arguing in front of their children and some understandable teen angst and rage. The Wallers don’t walk out of a Norman Rockwell Christmas card. They are flawed and real, which makes it all the easier to care about them and the problems they have wrapped under their tree.
The script, by Mark Medoff, pushes our emotional buttons but in a more artful fashion than is the norm with holiday fare. None of the sentimental aspects are forced or overworked.
It achieves sweetness without dipping into the sugar bowl too often and balances its pathos and humor nicely.
Director B.J. Cleveland has done a superb job of preparing the adult and child actors. Dunn and Zaitoon are particularly good. And the wonderfully busy set by Jack Hardway and highly effective light design by Michael Winter add a great deal to the efforts of the cast.
So if you’re looking for a warm and fuzzy family Christmas show that is not exactly like so many you’ve seen before, look no further.
You won’t find a clearer view of the real meaning of the season than that offered by Kringle’s Window.
