Donald Margulies’ Coney Island Christmas opened this past weekend at Gallery Players in a sparkling production directed by April Olt and Sonda Staley. This play is a warm tonic to some of the two-dimensional entertainments peddled this season. Sweet, but it won’t give anyone but the most hardened curmudgeons a toothache.
Coney Island Christmas follows Shirley Abramowitz (a deliciously tart Laurie Alexander) recounting for her Great-granddaughter Clara (Nora Butter) a a story of her favorite holiday. In Depression-era Brooklyn (young Shirley is beautifully played by Rose Clubok) with her best friend Evie (a very funny Georgia Fried), her indulgent grocer father (Brian Belair) and stern mother (Kate Willis), Shirley is cast as Jesus in a Christmas play over some parental objection.
In a family-friendly comedy like this, the plot’s a framework almost by definition. There’s a terrific argument between the elder Abramowitz couple about the pagan roots of Christmas, but the obstacles, while well-played, are an excuse for some very funny observations about changing times and a riotous mishmash of a Christmas pageant organized by PS 100’s art and theatre teachers (Laura Crone and Rich Cohen). The pageant itself features both Santa Claus and a duo of Scrooge and a hilarious conflation of Marley and the Ghost of Christmas Past and is rich with sight gags and very funny riffs with particular attention paid to Toby Hattemer and Kira Lessnick.
of Coney Island Christmas by Donald Margulies. Photo by Rebecca Barger-Amato.
The emotional core of the piece, along with lessons about living up to your potential, is a wrenching, moving coda with a soliloquy by Abramowitz detailing the treacherous present and near future with an eye to who didn’t survive. Willis and Belair are very strong, showing a real love and respect for each other and a true hope, expressed differently, that the world will be Shirley’s.
The direction by Olt and Staley doesn’t eschew sentimentality but it doesn’t wallow in it either. The arc of the play balances tension and sap really beautifully. Jon Baggs’ minimal set largely works well, I would have liked to see a little more of the projection backdrops but they were very moving when they appeared, particularly in the monologue about the onrushing future.
If you’re looking for something jolly and seasonal that won’t leave you with a stomachache, Coney Island Christmas is a charming choice.
Coney Island Christmas runs through December 20 with shows on Thursday at 7:30, Saturday at 8:00, and Sunday at 2:30. For tickets and more info please visit columbusjcc.org.