Munster's 'Christmas Schooner:' The Gales of November Pack An Emotional Wallop

I may be the only Chicago theater critic of a certain age who has never seen "The Christmas Schooner." After its initial production by the Music Theatre program at Northwestern University in 1993, directed by Dominic Missimi, the show debuted at the old Bailiwick Repertory Theatre in 1996 and ran for thirteen holiday seasons, an extremely impressive track record, indeed. I knew of it, sure, and I knew people in it. I just never saw it-go figure!

But now, outfitted with new orchestrations for six players by the bi-coastal Larry Blank, and licensed by the even bigger Music Theatre International, this Chicago homegrown Christmas musical, this "Midwestern 'Christmas Carol'" is receiving as epic a staging as it likely has ever received (though it has been done a hundred times around the country), now through December 20 at Theatre at the Center, a hop and a skip from Chicago proper in southeast suburban Munster, Indiana. 

While I have heard the true story of Captain Peter Stossel and the Molly Doone before, of course, I didn't know much of anything specific about the musical version of the tale of how trees from Upper Michigan were shipped here by boat over Lake Michigan for a quarter century (music and lyrics by Julie Shannon and book by veteran Chicago actor John Reeger). Turns out, its authors have written four musicals in all. And, though the scenic design by Jack Magaw didn't quite work for me in Munster (are they going to trip over that one edge of the boat while they're in their land-based house?), the show packs an emotional wallop in several spots. And it's not just the late autumn gales on the Great Lakes blowing everyone about, either. 

Forget the slow, early going, as some scenes aren't as funny or as clear as they need to be. Forget that you're not quite sure who the narrators are in the stylish ensemble from one minute to the next. By the time you realize that this is not a show about Peter Stossel at all, but about his wife, Alma, and how her understanding of Christmas, tradition, family, faith, abundance and all that sort of thing grows, deepens, changes and ripens like the fruitcake she makes every year, they have got you! And everyone around you. They have got you. 

"The Christmas Schooner" tells a story as meaningful as any you are likely to encounter this holiday season, and it does so with the scent of real evergreen trees in the theater and some real sexual heat between its leading players. This is the Midwest in all its untamed, frontier glory, to be sure. And bring a Kleenex. 

Cory Goodrich plays the longsuffering wife, struggling to understand the lure of the Lake Michigan water and the German holiday traditions of Bremen and Chicago as described by her husband and father-in-law. By the time her son has succumbed to the same tugs, Goodrich's Alma is at an almost existential crisis. After giving an acting and a belt singing lesson to anyone within earshot (buckle your seatbelt for the song "Questions"), Goodrich brings the show home in a fine scene with the young actress Livvie Goble. There is nothing wrong with stealing from "Camelot" when you know what you're doing, and Goodrich, Reeger, Shannon and Director Chuck Gessert certainly do. 

As the leading man in her life, Brandon Dahlquist cuts a fine form as Captain Peter, both rugged and smart, loving and caring, warm and hot! His singing voice, while not recording-studio perfect last Saturday night, may be too pretty for this thermal and wool-clad folk hero. Dahlquist is believable, likeable and compelling as the visionary boat captain. Broadway actor Peter Kevoian is his father, Gustav, nicely bringing to the forefront the eternal struggle of immigrants to find a balance between the old country left behind and the new one they have joined. He is funny and touching, a real asset. Young Daniel Coonley is adorably spirited as son Karl Stossel, and as teenage Karl, Mitchell Rose is a deep-voiced, energetic dancer with a polished acting style. We will certainly see more of him. 

The songs in "The Christmas Schooner" have a real rhythmic vitality, present very nearly throughout. If some songs are not as effective as others, the standouts really deliver. "The Blessings of the Branch," "The Letter" and "What Is It About The Water" are not only emotionally honest and moving, but they are integrated with dialogue in a mature way, too. And "Hardwater Sailors" and the title song are lusty and strong, like the choreography by Matt Raftery and the men of the ensemble who sail the Molly Doone and lift all those tied up, real trees. (Ronald Keaton is a salty old presence, and one of those lusty men, Kevin Barthel, is also the wig designer for the production, believe it or not.) 

The women of Munster's ensemble are stylish and sing very well, led by Audrey Billings as Stossel cousin Martha. In all, the cast of twenty acquits themselves extremely well, singing beautifully, negotiating a complicated if plain-looking set with ease and wearing Sally Murray's beautiful and richly detailed 1880s costumes. They are lit by Guy Rhodes quite superbly too, in that he evokes the seasons, the weather, the oil lamps and the sky. The cast is accompanied by the orchestra conducted by musical director William A. Underwood, they handle the many props wrangled behind the scenes by Elizabeth "Libby" Fandrei, and they can be heard quite well, thanks to Barry G. Funderburg's sound design.

If you saw "the Schooner" at Bailiwick during the last decade or so, you will be fascinated to see how the show has grown quite well into a larger space, with a larger musical palette and more experienced actors. If you have not seen it, then I don't know what you are waiting for. If you love Lake Michigan, if you are a history buff, or if you have ever wondered how to share the magic of your childhood holidays with your own friends and family today, this show will be meaningful to you. I would stake my very last Christmas tree on it. And so would the legendary Alma Stossel. 

"The Christmas Schooner" runs at Theater at the Center in Munster, Indiana now through December 20, 2009, at various times on Wednesdays through Sundays (2:00 pm, 2:30 pm, 7:30 pm and 8:00 pm).  For specific times and to purchase tickets, call the box office at 219-836-3255 or visit www.TheatreAtTheCenter.com.   

Photo credit: Johnny Knight

Photos from top to bottom: Daniel Coonley and Brandon Dahlquist; Ronald Keaton and John Leen; Daniel Coonley, Peter Kevoian, Cory Goodrich, Brandon Dahlquist and company; Peter Kevoian, John Leen, Peter Vamvakas, Kevin Barthel, Brandon Dahlquist and Ronald Keaton; the company at the end of Act One.

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