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BIGGER THAN EVER
‘miracle on easy street’
The show has never seen so many new songs.
In a time when almost all theater companies are cutting back expenses, Easy Street Productions in Youngstown is making its annual holiday show bigger than ever.
“Miracle on Easy Street,” the musical spectacular that is now in its 20th year, is getting an infusion of 12 new song-and-dance numbers.
The 2009 version of “Miracle” will also feature the largest cast in its history, with 120 singers, dancers and youngsters (Easy Street’s Little Rascals), plus a host of new costumes.
The show gets tweaked every year, but never has it seen so many new songs.
“You’d be surprised how hard it is to find that many good songs that we haven’t performed before over the years,” said Todd Hancock, director of the company. “Choreographer Renee Rogers has been working overtime with the new songs as well as re-imagining the old numbers.” One old segment getting a new look is the Toy Soldier routine, a perennial audience favorite.
The new songs include “Happy Holidays,” “Do You Hear What I Hear,” “Cool Yule,” “The Man With the Bag,” “Santa Claus Is Back in Town,” Faith Hill’s “Where Are You Christmas?” and “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.”
“After 20 years of requests, we finally gave in and added “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,” said Hancock. He noted the routine will include a hippo costume rented from Akron Design and Costume that was last seen in a skit on “The David Letterman Show.” You can YouTube it for proof, he said.
Music director Jeff Sanders had to add horn players to the Easy Street band to handle his new arrangements.
The core of the cast will remain unchanged. Hancock and co-founder Maureen Collins will be joined by Easy Street regulars James McClellan, David Jendre, Colleen Crish and Illa Willis, along with Alyssa DiBernardi, Rosie Jo Neddy (who will sing the aforementioned “Hippopotamus” song), Candace Campana, Kelsey Van Such and Gina Martini.
The past year has been a bumpy road for Easy Street.
The recession has been punishing the theater company, stifling ticket sales. In the spring, Easy Street was even forced to cancel a production (“Guys and Dolls”) for the first time in its history.
It’s most recent production, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” was a critical success but fell short of the break-even point, said Hancock.
Despite the squeeze, Easy Street is ramping up for what could be a make-or-break production for the theater company.
“Back in the summer we started picking songs [for ‘Miracle’] to get people who haven’t seen the show in a few years to come back,” said Hancock. He’s hoping for a Black Friday-like revenue windfall to salvage a weak year at the box office, and possibly even save his struggling company.
“Miracle on Easy Street” started in 1989 at the old Uptown Theater on the South Side. That first show had a cast of eight, and the now-defunct Uptown had a capacity of 275.
Last year’s four-show run drew more than 2,000 to Powers Auditorium for some performances, said Hancock.