Wednesday, December 4, 2002
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Wednesday, December 4, 2002 |
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Southside Theatre Guild gets to the heart of the holidays with 'Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus' By MICHAEL
BOYLAN It has been eight years since Southside Theatre Guild has done a Christmas show. It wasn't a deliberate break, but just the way the schedules worked out. However, when the script for "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus" came up in a meeting, they just couldn't say no. The play is based on a true story about Virginia O'Hanlon and her family and Frances P. Church, a reporter for the New York Sun. Virginia's father, James, is an Irish immigrant who gets fired from his job before Christmas. When Virginia asks her father if there is a Santa Claus, he tells her that if she sees it in The Sun, it must be true. Virginia writes to The Sun and asks if Santa Claus exists. Editor Ed Mitchell gives the assignment to his star reporter, Frances P. Church, who has been troubled since the death of his wife and child during childbirth. Church writes a response to Virgnia in the paper and it is possibly the most famous editorial of all time. Virginia gets the answer that all children are looking for, while Church finds redemption in the human spirit, witnessing acts of human kindness during the holiday season. Director Debbie Lewis is excited about the show. Her cast features 32 local actors ranging in age from six to 67. Lewis is also pleased that many families are involved in the show both on and off the stage. Church is played by Dominick Crea, an assistant attorney general in Georgia, who joins his daughter Pasquale and his son Alfred on stage. Another family on stage are Johnny and Heather May and their children, who play the O'Hanlons. According to Lewis, the cast has come together remarkably well, considering the fact that they had to rehearse during renovations in the theater and had to build and paint the sets themselves. "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus" will also feature music from the Tara Chorale Guild, both before the show and throughout. The community effort to produce the play ties in with the message of the play itself. "Christmas has become so commercialized," said Lewis. "The true meaning is that it is not things that matter but what's in your heart." "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus" will be presented Thursdays-Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. All Thursday tickets are $10 while admission to all other shows is $12 for adults and $10 for children. Phone 770-969-0956. |
