Miracle on 34th Street

Marina Theatre, Lowestoft

Review published in the Eastern Daily Press, 6 December 2013

As an appetiser for the Christmas and pantomime season and an example of how almost anything can be turned into a musical, Franklin Productions brought a staged version of the 1947 movie to Lowestoft before visiting Norwich next week.

It’s a simple, heart-warming tale. An old gentleman working in Macy’s famous toy store claims to be the real Santa Claus. He is put in an insane asylum and a lawyer takes up his case in court to prove he is the real deal.

Sitting alongside The Snowman and It’s a Wonderful Life the film has become a perennial family favourite, originally entitled The Big Heart in Britain. The show could follow.

With singing, dancing, some jokes, fast-moving scenery changes and lashings of vivid colour the professional performers gel together, reaching out to an all-age audience.

They avoid over-sentimentalising it and although some of the individual songs do not long linger in the mind, the whole evening achieves a sense of passion for the season, a child-like belief in goodness and goodwill.

An enjoyable family present night out.