Premiered in Wichita, coming to New York: ‘Christmas Letters’ recognized

Audiences in Wichita have thought “Christmas Letters,” the current production at the Forum Theatre, is pretty funny.

The buzz about the show, which had its world premiere at the theater last month, was so great that its producers are going to try it out in New York.

“Christmas Letters,” an original musical with a score written by Wichita native Laura Bergquist, will be read at New York’s Metro Baptist Church on Dec. 16, a benefit for New York’s Stomping Ground Theatre Company. The musical’s book and lyrics were written by Paul Cozby.

That means the musical will be read in its entirety, but it will not be staged and produced like a traditional musical.

The idea, said Kathryn Page Hauptman, producing artistic director at the Forum, is to introduce the play to publishing executives – who will be invited to the reading – in the hope that it will be picked up and published.

“Our goal with the piece is not to do a production in New York,” she said. “Since it’s a seasonal piece, it’s not really viable to do that, but our goal is to get it out in the national market for licensing for future productions.”

The musical spoofs the stresses of the holiday season through a series of vignettes tackling topics like Black Friday, Christmas cards from well-meaning relatives, and assembling new toys.

In addition to the reading in New York – which will be directed by Nick Demos, director of the world-premiere in Wichita – the Forum has extended the musical’s run in Wichita another week.

“Christmas Letters” will run through Dec. 18, with performances at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and at 2 p.m. Sundays.

The show is produced at First United Methodist Church’s Wilke Center, 330 N. Broadway – a first for the church as well, Hauptman said. The Wilke Center is a well-equipped black box theater, she said.

“We’re not part of First United Methodist, but they’re working toward using the Wilke Center more for community things – it’s a really wonderful space,” she said. “It has a projection screen and lighting. It’s a full theatrical experience for people.”

The Wichita cast of “Christmas Letters” includes Barb Schoenhofer, Ray Wills, Leslie Alan Coates and Jen Bechter.

In New York, the show will be read by four actors, three of which have Broadway credentials – Laura Darrell (Original Anna in Disneyland’s “Frozen Live”), Alan H. Green (“School of Rock,” “Sister Act”), Jessica Phillips (“Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Law and Order: SVU”) and Marty Thomas (“Wicked,” “Xanadu”).

If the show is picked up by a professional publisher, the Forum would benefit financially, Hauptman said. She’s been involved in the creation of a new musical many times in the past, she said.

Because the Forum is the original producer of the musical, the authors would pay certain royalties to the theater if it was being licensed out, she said.

“We’ll kind of go on with the project as far as name recognition and financial benefit,” she said.

This story was originally published December 7, 2016 at 10:27 AM with the headline "Premiered in Wichita, coming to New York: ‘Christmas Letters’ recognized."