The Christmas Schooner
Written by John Reeger and Julie Shannon
Directed by L. Walter Stearns
Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport (map)
thru Dec 30 | tickets: $29-$59 | more info
Check for half-price tickets
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A triumphant return for Chicago’s very own Christmas musical
The Mercury Theater presents
The Christmas Schooner
Review by Lawrence Bommer
What’s Christmas without a tree as bright and colorful as the season, whether in the Walnut Room, Daley Plaza or our own humble parlor? The Christmas Schooner pays unforced tribute to the heroic entrepreneurs who made those trees happen, the 19th century schooner captains and crews who braved the November gales of a treacherous Lake Michigan to bring Chicago desperately needed Christmas trees—living mementos of the “Tannenbaum” they’d known in Germany. It’s a vintage Chicago musical, celebrating light and warmth despite December’s cold dark.
Rooted in a very real family, the plot draws strength from its fascinating details of Great Lakes sailing, including the disgusting slumgullion stew. Reeger’s script solidly recreates a world that was uncertainly bridging Old World traditions and New World accommodations. Shannon’s score, which effortlessly moves from German hymns and Mummers carols to period polkas, stomp dances and pop anthems (wonderfully choreographed by Brenda Didier), perfectly complements the real-life tale of Captain Peter Stossel. Inspired by a letter from his sister in Chicago, Stossel hit on a new–and very old–use for fir trees of the upper Peninsula: They would become tannenbaum for Chicago’s huge German population–and soon for the entire city. An unexpected crowd of 500 welcomed the schooner “Molly Doone” at the Clark Street dock. Even more unexpectedly, like instant traditions, Christmas trees were instantly adopted by all ethnic groups, making memories that fed on themselves and keep the trees coming.
Too specific to be sentimental, the musical only demands care and charm: Director L. Walter Stearns is true to its big heart, with music director Eugene Dizon all but marinating in Julie Shannon’s lovely melodies and Larry Blank’s rich new orchestrations. (Mercury Theatre promises a full musical season next year–A Grand Night for Singing, Barnum, and The Color Purple.) Cory Goodrich and Karl Hamilton (who’s settled into the role very comfortably indeed) are the stalwart Alma and Peter Stossel: His captain courageously radiates authority and, in “When I Look at You,” sheer love, while this richly drawn wife and mother stands for so many wouldn’t-be widows who stared at the skies and feared for their men. As young Karl, Benjamin Parkhill is a mischievous delight in “That’s What Loving Sons Are Four” and, as teenage Karl, Mark Kosten bumptiously celebrates his love for the lake with the crew in “Hardwater Saillors.”
Another “Schooner” veteran, Jim Sherman plays the Teutonic grandpa with a guaranteed foxy twinkle, managing to infuriate “Swiss Miss” Alma but also perfectly mediate any conflicts between her and Peter. Playing anyone from hungry peasants to corrupt Chicagoans, this chorus can do no (musical) wrong, bestowing the blessings of a Christmas branch to the audience or contemplating the Great Lakes’ greater dangers and appeal in “What Is It About The Water?” Didier’s dances almost spill over, now that Richard and Jacqueline Penrod’s thrust stage all but puts the first row on stage.
Chicago has long deserved and, for 17 years now, has thoroughly enjoyed its own Christmas musical, a characteristically commercial celebration of entrepreneurial and meteorological risk-taking. A show about our slaughterhouses wouldn’t have delivered the right holiday cheer, and it’s hard to imagine audiences warming up to the saga of how the first artificial Christmas tree arrived in town. But The Christmas Schooner reflects our surprisingly sentimental, hardscrabble, tough-loving town at its well-earned best.
Rating: ★★★★
Christmas Schooner continues through December 30th at Mercury Theater, 3745 N. Southport (map), with performances Wednesdays at 2pm and 7:30pm, Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 2pm and 7:30pm and Sundays at 1pm. Tickets are $29-$59, and are available by phone (773-325-1700) or online through Vendini.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at MercuryTheaterChicago.com. (Running time: 2 hours 15 minutes, includes an intermission)
Photos by Jason Epperson
artists
cast
Karl Hamilton (Peter Stossel); Cory Goodrich (Alma Stossel); Jim Sherman (Gustav Stossel), Benjamin Parkhill (Karl), Mark Kosten (teenage Karl), Ron Keaton, Tom Shea, Travis Taylor, Eric Parker, Ron Keaton, Travis Taylor, Ryan Westwood
behind the scenes
L. Walter Stearns (director), Eugene Dizon (musical director), Brenda Didier (choreographer), Jacqueline and Richard Penrod (set design), Carol Blanchard (costumes), Jason Epperson (lighting design), Jason Epperson (photos)
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