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Easy Street’s holiday spectacular renews its energy with fresh faces
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
YOUNGSTOWN
“Miracle on Easy Street” may be approaching its 30th anniversary, but it remains forever young.
That’s because the spectacular holiday revue by Easy Street Productions has a cast of dozens of kids and young adults with new ones joining the ranks every year to replace the ones who graduate.
“Us singers are getting older, but the cast stays the same age,” said Todd Hancock, co-founder of Easy Street. “That’s why this show has such energy.”
This year’s “Miracle” features the biggest cast ever, with more than 150 singers, dancers and Little Rascals – the youngest members of the Easy Street troupe.
It will be presented four times at Powers Auditorium: 7:30 p.m. Friday; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; and 2:30 p.m. next Sunday. Tickets start at $17; call 330-744-0264 or go to youngstownsymphony.com.
In addition to the public performances, Easy Street will do the show three more times – Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings – for about 5,000 local school students who will bus in to Powers for a holiday field trip.
There is a constant flow of young performers who want to get on stage as part of “Miracle,” said Hancock.
“When they get to age 12, they get taller and move on, but we always have so many kids coming up, waiting in the wings, saying ‘When do I get to the Christmas show?,’” he said. “It’s a wonderful problem to have. We have so many kids that we can’t always fit them in. But it keeps me and [co-founder] Maureen Collins young. We’re surrounded by kids from mid-October to mid-December.”
Three youngsters who are returning are Coraline, Elena and Meredith Wakefield, who debuted as the Grinches last year and will reprise the role. “They steal the show for the three or four minutes they are on,” said Hancock.
Because of its strong ticket sales, “Miracle” is the financial engine that keeps Easy Street going, year after year. It’s easily the biggest money-maker on the schedule, and pays most of the bills for the year.
It’s also a holiday tradition for many local residents, who attend every year.
“There is a core group that has been coming to this thing literally for decades,” said Hancock. “This is the one show we can point to to explain why we are still around 28 years down the pike.”
The show is a glitzy and quick-paced delight, with skits and songs coming in rapid succession. There is a full orchestra, set pieces, colorful costumes, and a whole lot of dancing on the large Powers stage.
Because the show is a tradition, most of the musical numbers are brought back each year. But there are always a few new ones mixed in, as well as some fresh takes on the repeaters.
For example, Hancock does a Charlie Chaplin number every year that is one of the highlights. He added a Star Wars look to it last year because “Miracle” coincided with the release of the blockbuster film “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” With another new movie in the franchise due this weekend (“Rogue One”), look for some light sabers this year.
The hosts of “Miracle,” as always, are Hancock and Collins, with returning alumni and singing siblings Eric McClellan, Janeen Williams and James McClellan, along with featured cast members Colleen Chance, Candace Campana, Cortney MacKay and Bailey Conley.
Jeff Sanders is returning as music director, as is Megan Cleland as choreographer.
Hancock said the weight of the show rests on Cleland’s shoulders.
“She has expanded it so much over the last three years that I don’t feel bad calling it ‘spectacular,’” he said. “They do some intricate stuff. They do the heavy lifting, the senior dancers and the alumni who come each year. They come back from college, and sometimes from doing professional work, to visit their family and ask if they could be in the show. They say, ‘It isn’t Christmas if I don’t do “Miracle.”’”
Cleland has been commuting from her Alabama home for the past six weeks, to make sure the show is just right.
“She makes sure the costumes fit,” said Hancock. “She rewired the antlers [on costumes] so they light up.”