Playwright: Patricia Di Benedetto Snyder, Will Severin and John Vreeke. At: Porchlight Music Theatre at Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont. Phone: 773-327-5252; $40. Runs through Jan. 3
Oversize Macy's Thanksgiving Day balloons parade across the stage via nifty digital projections in the opening sequence of Porchlight Music Theatre's new-to-Chicago adaptation of Miracle on 34th Street. But there's one oversize balloon that casts an enormous shadow over Porchlight's so-so production: It's the original Academy Award-winning 20th Century Fox film.
It's hard to forget that classic 1947 black-and-white film ( the much-praised 1994 remake also has its partisans ) . So when you compare and contrast what's before you on stage and what you can get more economically on DVD at home, why bother going out?
It's possible that Porchlight might be searching around for a show to become an annual holiday tradition the way that the Goodman Theatre's A Christmas Carol is a seasonal signature. But despite a lovely production complete with those impressive digital projections, Porchlight's Miracle on 34th Street doesn't stack up against the movie.
Part of my disappointment was Porchlight's choice of material. You would think that a company with such strong musical credentials would have sprung for the film's 1963 Broadway adaptation called Here's Love ( featuring a script and score by Meredith Willson, of The Music Man fame ) . Willson's work may not have been a huge success, but many people expect Porchlight to deliver on smartly reduced, rethought and repackaged Broadway musicals.
There is traditional holiday music throughout this adaptation by Patricia Di Benedetto Snyder, Will Severin and John Vreeke. But instead of forwarding the plot along, it's mostly used in the background or to cover scenic shifts. The rest of the earnest script sounds like it's parroting the best dialogue from the screenplay.
The acting company does just fine under Walter Stearns' direction. ( Karl Hamilton makes the biggest impression as the in-love lawyer Fred Gailey. )
But most of the time, the film's stellar cast shows up Porchlight's actors. Jim Sherman's Kris Kringle comes across as more gruff and stern than Edmund Gwenn's warm and embracing persona in the film. And though Laney Kraus-Taddeo is appropriately cute as the Santa-doubting Susan Walker, there's no way she can compare to Natalie Wood's amazingly naturalistic child actor work.
The crowd that Porchlight really needs for its Miracle on 34th Street to succeed is small kids and grownups bent on reliving their own nostalgia for film. But if you don't fall into those categories or want any Kris Kringle cuteness, it's best to cross the Theatre Building Chicago's lobby to where Theater Wit skewers Christmastime magic at Macy's in David Sedaris' The Santaland Diaries. There may be no oversize hovering balloons, but the disgruntled elf narrator certainly jokes about getting high.
