To quote the venerable Atlanta actress Bernardine Mitchell’s opening line in Theatrical Outfit’s “The Gifts of the Magi,” “I bring you good news.”
If you’re in the holiday spirit but tired of all the same old shows (“A Christmas Carol,” “The Santaland Diaries,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” et al.), the Outfit’s musical version of “Magi” offers a mostly warm and fanciful new take on the classic short story by O. Henry.
It’s adapted by Mark St. Germain, whose original plays “Freud’s Last Session” and “The God Committee” have been previously mounted by the company, and he also co-wrote the song lyrics with composer Randy Courts.
Despite being expanded into a 90-minute revue of sorts, at its core it remains the sentimental parable (set in New York City circa 1900) about a pair of young, down-on-their-luck newlyweds, both of whom make an ultimate sacrifice in order to give the other a Christmas present.
Smoothly directed by Heidi Cline McKerley and handsomely designed by Joseph Futral (lights), Tommy Cox (set) and Jonida Beqo (costumes), the Outfit production features endearing performances by Nick Arapoglou and Caroline Freedlund as the impoverished Jim and Della Dillingham.
Still, the real guiding force of the piece is Mitchell as our omnipresent narrator, a symbolic newspaper vendor named Willy. When parts of the musical occasionally venture off point and away from the central couple, Mitchell’s powerful presence holds everything together. Her closing solo alone is worth the proverbial price of admission.
For that matter, so is a show-stopping number by Glenn Rainey as one Soapy Smith, a street bum who literally can’t get arrested. As conceived in the script, the role has little essential connection to the rest of the famous morality tale, but any excuse to watch Rainey at work is good enough.
Rounding out the ensemble – less successfully – are Adrienne Reynolds and Jeff McKerley (the director’s husband and choreographer), who struggle not to ham it up too much in various comic-relief character bits.
Most of the songs are pretty but a couple of them fall flat or seem altogether unnecessary. Freedlund’s solo is particularly lame (as written more so than as performed) and a big routine about “greed” and the commercialism of Christmas feels extraneous (if not somewhat ironic, considering the theater has raised its regular ticket prices for this holiday show).
Although it’s a rather slight undertaking, the Outfit’s “Magi” is not without its modest charms. Chief among them, compared to a lot of the over-produced, over-amplified, over-orchestrated alternatives: Let’s hear it for the talented music director S. Renee Clark, whose simple piano accompaniment here is a pure pleasure.
THEATER REVIEW
“The Gifts of the Magi”
Grade: B
Through Dec. 23. 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays; 2:30 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays. $22-$44. Theatrical Outfit (the Balzer Theater at Herren’s), 84 Luckie St., Atlanta. 1-877-725-8849. theatricaloutfit.org.
Bottom line: Another familiar holiday story, but pleasantly retold.
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