"The Miracle On 34th Street” by Erewash Musical Society
Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton

Kris Kringle, an old man in a retirement home, gets a job working as Santa for Macy's. Kris unleashes waves of good will with Macy's customers and the commercial world of New York City by referring parents to other stores to find exactly the toy their child has asked for.

Seen as deluded and dangerous by Macy's vocational counsellor, who plots to have Kris shanghaied to Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital, Kris ends up in a court competency hearing. Especially at stake is one little girl's belief in Santa. Which way though will the Court rule?

With the help of Fed Gaily, who is the neighbour of Doris Walker, who hires Kringle for the job as Santa at Macy's, and her daughter Susan, they set to prove that Kris Kringle really is Santa Claus.

The Miracle On 34th Street is a great Christmas feel good film; it does not make for a great Christmas feel good musical though, and the songs add nothing to the lovely story of the film.

At times I felt that some of the cast weren't as enthused with the musical as some others were and I also feel that this wasn't the best vocal performance that Erewash have given either. I noticed that the synchronicity in some of the choreography was out several times as well.

That said there are a lot of positives to counter the above.

Keith Butcher (Kris Kringle) really channelled Dickie Attenborough in his performance in a lovely understated way.

I think it was Katie Fitzpatrick that played Susan, a role shared with Lowri Moore on some days, was a very believable Susan Walker.

Louise O'Boyle (Doris) has a lovely voice and used it well, and she created a lovely love/hate chemistry with Gaily, played by Graham Buchanan, and I liked the way that the slap she gave Gaily actually looked real. Not sure if it actually made contact from where I sat but it looked real enough for me.

Graham is a wonderful leading man; I've seen him play so many over the years, and this is another to add to his impressive CV. He shows what a dangerous game acting can be though as not only did he get slapped in the face by Louise, but the lid of a large box fell onto his head which looked like it wasn't light either.Always a fun actor to watch, even when his character's anger surfaced.

One actor who always gives 110% in everything that I have seen him in is James Christian, and playing Marvin Shellhammer gave him the chance to bring out the Christmas camp. His enthusiasm for the role simply exploded on stage.

Two Christmas baddies in this play, Mr Sawyer and the attorney against Kringle, played by Kheenan Jones and Andy Honman respectively were great fun to watch get their comeuppance, especially Andy's character when his son in the play, Tommy Mara, played by Kai Hagan wonderfully, turning the tables on his father in the production.

For me though, the man who stole the show vocally was Richard Comfort who played R H Macy, the rival department store owner. His voice oozes class and his long notes are controlled and powerful.

Vocally I loved "That Man Over There Is Santa Claus", performed by Richard with the ensemble, and the intricate and clever "She Hadda Go Back" performed by Graham, stood out for me. The other, and the most well known of the soundtrack to the musical, was "It's Beginning To look A Lot Like Christmas".

Directed by Clare Toska, I think she did a good job with the material - musical wise - she had.

Victoria Palmer choreographed the show and there were some lovely pieces of choreography here, and there were some long pieces of varied choreography involved, so this was no easy job.

Martin Lewis was in charge of the band and musically directed the piece. I know that if Martin is at the musical helm, it's gonna be a good sound. I was not disappointed.

Sound and Light wiz's Dave Dallard and Dave Martin made sure the production looked and sounded good, as they always do.

I also liked the projections which really brought the skyline and the court room to life, also the work of Dave Dallard.

I was also impressed with the accents which did not falter throughout.

Both adult and child ensembles worked well together and there were some quick costume changes for some of them I noticed.

Some of the scene changes could have been done a little bit quieter but at the speed these were done, the focus is getting everything off and the next lot on, so I can understand why there were a few bangs, plus I know that the wings at the Duchess are not the biggest spaces for storage these items of scenery and props.

So even though I still think that this isn't the best musical in the world, I think that Erewash did an OK job of it and with the snow and Santa outfits, I did leave in just a little bit more Christmassy mood than when I entered the theatre, not as Grinch-like as what you may first of thought at the start of the review.

What matters though is this production is sold out, so whatever i think of the content of the musical, it has a great deal of appeal to many people, as shown by the ticket sales.

Can I also mention as well that the souvenir programme is great. Packed full of wonderful information about the production, the cast and crew and the film, upcoming shows and news as well as a festive word search. All this for just £2.00!!

"The Miracle On 34th Street” is at the Duchess Theatre in Long Eaton until Saturday 16 November.