Cary Players' A Gift to Remember Is a Nice
Addition to Local Holiday-Themed Shows

The time of year to which we refer as "the holidays" is a "feel-good" time and is therefore an excellent time for a feel-good play. Joseph Robinette's A Gift to Remember is chock-full of gifts worth remembering. Under the direction of Robert Richardson, Cary Players' talented cast and production team wraps these gifts up into a neat, heartwarming package for an audience to remember and delivers it (complete with a Christmas tree) on Dec. 1-4 at the Cary Arts Center.

The Play:

In the 1990s, circumstances force a dozen or so train passengers to spend their Christmas Eve in a tiny train depot in the fictional town of Abbott, New Hampshire. Nobody is happy with this interruption of their holiday plans, and it is no surprise that their earliest interactions with each other are less-than-perfectly polite and friendly. But gestures of goodwill begin to engender positive feelings that spread and grow.

As the evening passes, we are served tiny "slices" of the lives of these people, and we learn about conflicts they have been facing. Will we be witness to unexpected resolutions of these conflicts? Is it possible that the "miracle" has moved from "34th Street" to a train station?

The Acting:

A major joy in attending a play is meeting interesting characters who say and do interesting things, and this ensemble of characters is no exception. With a cast of 19 characters, it is difficult for a 71-year-old reviewer (sitting on the aisle in Row M) to get a perfect grasp on "who's who," but certain snippets do stand out.

Matt (Joe Beaudin) has no idea how accurate he is when he identifies himself as "Scrooge," and Beaudin invites us to "love to hate" his character.

Sam (Randy Jordan) and Louise (Terry Townsend) have a loving marriage, and their love for each other makes it easy for them to be kind and to spread love to others. These roles are well-cast, and the actors create a very believable chemistry between them.

Len (Brett Stafford), a sailor, is distraught by this delay in his return home for Christmas, and Stafford makes it obvious from the start that, for him, the stakes are much higher than they appear.

Clayton (Tyler Dennis) manages to get us wondering how he is able to make little things happen, and Dennis creates just enough mystique to keep it interesting.

If forced to single out a "star of the show," I would choose Violet Young (in the role of Kate) who makes her young character positively endearing. Energy, timing, physicality, stage presence -- Young has it all and delivers, in spades (without ever overdoing it in the least).

Then, naturally, the award for "best supporting actress" goes to Liz Mullins as Elise (Kate's mother) -- not only for the tender mother-daughter relationship, but also for the way Mullins makes the struggles and pain of this newly divorced, single mother so apparent behind the "stiff-upper-lip" of the bold facade that she needs to present to her daughter (and to the world).

And, although Stephanie Spohrer appears in other scenes, she is the hands-down winner of the award for a "cameo appearance" as Pam (Matt's wife) in the scene in which Matt finally manages to get her on the phone.

The Tech:

Set designer Bob Grannan has teamed up with master carpenter Phil Lowden to create the railroad depot.

Costume designer Lauren Polak has clothed these refugees (and all of the "extras") appropriately for a 1990s December evening in New Hampshire.

Sound designer Bob Kulow, lighting designer Maison O'Neil, and prop designer Paula Andrews, along with hair & makeup designer Sarah Richardson, team up to complete the illusion that we are looking in through a Fourth Wall.

The Cary Players will present Joseph Robinette's A Gift to Remember, based on a book by Debbie Macomber, on Dec. 1-4 at the Cary Arts Center

Nice Touches:

• The "Love Amy" letter.
• The pay telephones and picture of (then-)President Bill Clinton on the wall.
• References in the dialogue to "possible" future gadgets and events.
• The sound effect of wind every time the door is opened.
• The use of a pitch pipe by Dean (Tim Wiest) and Wiest's physicality of directing the Christmas carols.
• Ugly sweaters!
• Multiple breakings of the Fourth Wall (especially Len's and the carolers').
• The Christmas Tree and its "curtain call."

Memorable Lines:

• "Ew" (and the pause before it)
• "Everything's complicated"
• "Your mother just arrived!"

From the Department of Picky-Picky:

The Matt-Pam flashback scene needs a larger pool of light.

The crying of the baby on exterior speakers was a bit distracting. Perhaps, a Bluetooth speaker or some other sound device in the baby bundle would fix this?

I am sure that Sam would have sipped up his jacket (or shivered severely) in his at-the-door scene. (Remember: this is December in New Hampshire!)

The only character that I noticed visibly reacting to the cold when the door was opened was Kate, and several other characters were closer to it.

The Bottom Line:

The first time that I took my (then quite young) daughter to a play, she told me, "It's like watching TV, except it's real people." Well: A Gift to Remember is like watching a Hallmark Movie on TV, except it's real people. And it is fun.

A Gift to Remember, based on the 1998 book, Can This Be Christmas?, by Debbie Macomber, is a nice addition to local holiday-themed theater. Consider attending it.

The Cary Players will present Joseph Robinette's A Gift to Remember, based on a book by Debbie Macomber, on Dec. 1-4 at the Cary Arts Center

Joseph Robinette's A GIFT TO REMEMBER (In Person at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, and 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 2-4), based on the 1998 book, Can This Be Christmas?, by Debbie Macomber, directed by Robert Richardson and starring Aaron Young as the Train Conductor, Mary Vogeley as Cathy, Leah Webster as Madeline, Joe Beaudin as Matt, Stephanie Spohrer as Pam, Liz Mullins as Elise, Violet Young as Kate, Brett Stafford as Len, Lauren Overbey as Amy, Siifan Herpa Haile as Nick, Jaclyn Jones as Kelly, Randy Jordan as Sam, Terry Townsend as Louise, Tyler Dennis as Clayton, Tim Wiest as Dean, Gabriella Terrero as Choir Member #1, Paula Richard Andrews as Choir Member #2, Jenny Solomon as Choir Member #3, Rebecca Hodge as Choir Member #4/Understudy (Cary Players at the Cary Arts Center in Cary). VIDEOS: https://www.youtube.com/user/CaryPlayers. PRESENTER: https://caryplayers.org/, https://www.facebook.com/CaryPlayers, https://twitter.com/CaryPlayers, and https://www.youtube.com/user/CaryPlayers. 2023-24 SEASON: https://caryplayers.org/season/2023-2024/current-season/. VENUE: https://www.townofcary.org/recreation-enjoyment/facilities/cary-arts-center, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cary-Arts-Center/235735853122351, and https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/15097356/cary-arts-center/. DIRECTIONS: https://caryplayers.org/cary-arts-center/. PARKING: https://www.townofcary.org/home/showpublisheddocument/7187/637648017090330000. ACCESSIBILITY: https://www.townofcary.org/recreation-enjoyment/facilities/cary-arts-center/accessibility. TOWN OF CARY COVID-19 SAFETY PROTOCOL: https://www.townofcary.org/recreation-enjoyment/facilities/prcr-indoor-facilities-know-before-you-go. A GIFT TO REMEMBER (2016 Drama): https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/a-gift-to-remember. THE SCRIPT (excerpts): https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/media/pdf/excerpts/exGiftToRememberGD2.pdf. TICKETS:$10-$25, plus taxes and fees. Call 800-514-3849, 919-469-4069, or click here to buy tickets. INFORMATION: 919-439-4410 or info@caryplayers.org. PLEASE DONATE TO: Cary Players.

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