The Toronto Theatre Review: Chris, Mrs. – A New Holiday Musical

By Ross

Hey Toronto! We’ve all been gifted, and it’s an original Canadian Hallmark Christmas musical, titled, somewhat awkwardly, Chris, Mrs. It’s as Hallmark-y a show as one could possibly be, barely missing one clue or frame from the network that has saturated the market with different movies with, basically, the same plot in repeat. And if it ain’t broken, like they say, why fix it. And the musical is, much to my surprise, pleasant and fun; cozy and tenderly written, right down to some of the more clumsy ingredients that either turn the treat into something too sweet to stomach, or something that leaves an awkward bitter, and somewhat grinchy taste in your mouth. But not always, and not in the end.

It’s not surprising that the new holiday-themed musical has billed itself, literally, as a Hallmark holiday movie musical version, made for the stage and filled with some of the brightest prettiest Canadian stage stars selling it strong to the masses. Not a terrible thing in the least, and if you are a lover of the Hallmark family entertainment onslaught, then this is all going to slide down your throat as happily as egg nog on a Christmas morning (I, on the other hand, might need an ounce or two of rum to make it taste great). It’s filled to the brim with enjoyable numbers, big dance numbers, a few adorable-looking children, and a holiday spirit that is forever overflowing into the gorgeous Winter Garden Theatre in downtown Toronto. It’s played straight at you, in a standardized Broadway blueprint fashion, with no surprises in the big numbers presented, beyond the leap of faith one has to take to follow the straightforward Hallmark blueprint style of storytelling that will make us all happy and filled with cheer on a cold December eve.

From the moment we meet widowed Ben Chris, played handsomely well by Liam Tobin (Broadway’s The Book of Mormon), we see where this is all going. He’s the standard big city corporate type who has lost his way and the connection he once had to the yuletide spirit, who has decided to spend this Christmas at a small town lodge that was owned by his parents but is now run, quite well, mind you, by his brother Charlie, lovingly played by Kale Penny (Mayfield’s Rock of Ages) who isn’t given much to do except play second (or maybe third) fiddle to his more dashing older brother.

But Ben is not going home to connect emotionally with any of the holiday festivities that the town is famous for. He, and his glamourous girlfriend, Vicki, played in a fabulously manipulative manner by Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane (Stratford’s Rent), are going there strictly to finalize a deal that will hopefully get him another high-powered promotion at the advertising firm, and will most likely guarantee that she will remain the influencer of the moment connected to one of their more family-friendly brands. That is if she can get Ben to propose to her this holiday season. All of this is laid out well and in true Broadway fashion with a big flashy opening number, “Just Another Jingle“, staged a bit too obviously and flat by director Katie Kerr (program director at The National Centre of New Musicals/Theatre Aquarius), who also wrote the music, book, and lyrics with the musical director, Matthew Stodolak (musical director at Canada’s Wonderland), trying their best to bring sparkle and big kicks to a formula that is already familiar to most of us.

The show, defying all odds, is definitely entertaining and forward-moving, with lots of sparkle and holiday spirit at every turn, embodied most wonderfully by Ben’s personal assistant, Candace Brown, played to perfection by the scene-stealing Sarah Lynn Strange (Rainbow Stage’s Sister Act) – who, by the way, should get her own holiday special if the world is truly giving out Christmas wishes. The trip to the country lodge is all planned, with Ben’s adorable-looking family, perfectly dressed in the holiday spirit by set and costume designer Cory Sincennes (Shaw’s Gypsy) coming along for the ride. Naturally, Ben’s children are picture-perfect, with two mischievous twins; Sam and Samantha, played on opening night by Lucien Duncan-Reid and Addison Wagman (alternates: Finn Cofell & Isaac Grates-Myers), and the secretly cute, bookish teenage daughter, Claire, played adorably by the talented AJ Bridel (Drayton’s Kinky Boots), who are told to behave, and play nice.

All we need now are the two plot ingredients that this musical requires to make this all work as it should. The kids find a ring in Dad’s bag and assume it means that Ben is going to propose to Vicki, who is now coming along on this family sleigh ride to the country lodge. The kids, as mischievous as ever, decide they have to ask Santa to help them derail that romantic rendezvous, and in turn, find an alternative future wife for their widowed father, even though they haven’t been the best kids this year, as pointed out by older sister Claire. Santa will have to listen, as they plead their case to Claire. It’s an adorable set-up, one that would make Hallmark proud, especially with the ditty, “Dear Santa“, played out directly to warm our hearts by these rugrats. Now, I don’t want to be a mean Grinch or an Ebenezer Scrooge but these two kids, as cute as they are, are not the singers this show needs. They definitely look the part, filling out the demographics solidly, but when they are required to sing charmingly and wholeheartedly for their wish to be granted, the two, especially Duncan-Reid, struggle to stay on key and quite honestly fail to deliver the gift-wrapped goods strongly. It’s not a strong presentation by any means, especially for the opening night crowd.

Regardless of their lack of vocal strength, their wish is granted, sweet and kindly, by the white-haired older gentleman in sequined red, naturally named Nick, who reads the note that magically makes its way into his hands from the post box. Their request sets up the Christmas whirlwind that will hopefully take the non-maternal Vicki down and save these kids from the possible wicked stepmother syndrome that lurks just around the corner in black high heels. Nick, played joyously by Mark Weatherley (Here for Now’s The Wonder of It All), after flirting up a deliciously sweet storm with Candace, somehow, magically, delivers back to the lodge the wild and wandering seasonal worker, Holly Carmichael. Played gloriously well by the vocally gifted Danielle Wade (Stratford’s The Music Man) doing her best Anna Kendrick impression, Holly is destined, quite clearly, to be the one who destroys the competition with that high-wattage smile and killer vocals, with barely a battle scar to be had, at least on Holly. She’s the fresh, honest, caring woman, who will, obviously, save the day, even though she she reads too young – almost as young as daughter Clair, which is a bit of a visual attunement problem. She is also known by brother Charlie to run off at the first sign of trouble (and of love). But he hires her back anyway to help out, naturally, as he is understaffed at the well-run lodge. So we can all breathe a sigh of relief (not that we were holding our breath in any sense of the word because of plot tension). Because now, all the pieces of this sweet-natured Christmas puzzle are in place, and we can all sit back and relax, knowing exactly where this is all going to end up.

But the creative team of Stodolak and Kerr, feel the need to add another subplot into the mix, possibly to pull in a younger dynamic into the story. They play with a life-long crush by lodge employee, Tim, played strong by Henry Firmston (Stratford’s Spamalot), for the teenage Claire, but it’s not going to be easy. He bumbles along in that Hallmark kinda way, too nervous to state the obvious, especially when he sees that Claire has developed a mad-quick crush on the resident employee hottie and junior figure skating champion, Cole, played well by the talented Andrew Broderick (Canadian Stage’s Choir Boy). Cole is a great wingman for his buddy, Tim, helping him step up and into the game, while also doing double duty with his own best womanizing stance without getting all creepy on us. These three do a fantastically fun job navigating this silly triangle without ever losing its PG stance, even though they all look a bit too old to be playing teenage bumblers. Yet it works its way in, mainly because of the talent presented.

This is also the part where one of the not-so-great ingredients of a Hallmark movie comes flying out to hit us in the head. The musical is blessed with some snappy fun songs, breezy one-liners, a meaningful love alliance that happens faster than an applause break, and a seen-it-coming-from-the-heavens happy ending, but it also has some stereotypically casting choices where the people of colour are the ones who are literally standing in the way of the picture perfect white couple finally coming together in the end. With Sinclair-Brisbane’s Vicki getting the harshest end of the literal candy cane. Her part is a blast though, drenched in evil step-mother glamour vibes, played to the max, especially when she finally gets her big song and dance number, naturally named “Vicki’s Lament.” She finally gets to be in the star spotlight, just like she always wants to be, backed by a few gorgeously attired backup dancers who are as handsome and sexy as they are talented. That’s where she truly shines (as do those guys); not as a maternal figure trying to appease some children she obviously has no desire to deal with. You just know boarding school is one phone call away for Vicki if she, and her falsely twisted ankle, get their Christmas wish she is gaming for. Guess it got lost in the mail, or Nick decided not to read it.

Matthew Stodolak and Katie Kerr do a pretty solid job with the music and lyrics, finding festive flavor in the playfulness of the wordplay. It sounds good, especially when the musical hands over the reigns to its adult leads, letting them sing out strong and true stage center. The rhymes and rhythms of the Christmas jingle and joyfulness are clever and play well to the crowd, along with the festive choreography by Sarah Vance, who delivers flip after flip from the pros she is working with.

Chris, Mrs. fulfills the wish for providing festive cheer and confection-laden entertainment. It’s pure Hallmark fluff, delivered well in a breezy cheesy kind of way. The actors all find festive cheer in every gift unwrapped, especially Strange who personally lights up the stage with every gloriously gifted laugh she delivers. Strange’s Christmas chemistry with Weatherley’s Nick is just one of many fun bows on this well-wrapped Christmas present, just like the handsome Tobin as the musical’s main bah-humbugger, who needs that mistletoe shift that only a trip to a snow-covered country lodge can do. He finally gets his moment to truly shine with the tenderly encrypted song, “The Great Snowy Owl“, showcasing not just a handsome face and physique, but an awkward Dad trying hard to connect to his children after losing, not too long ago, their mother/his wife, who he met and fell in love with at this very lodge. We see it all clearly from the corporate holiday party to the ending around the town’s big Christmas tree. I half expected a White Christmas moment with snow and a grand opening of the doors to show a sleigh drawn by a horse (or even a reindeer). Followed by a sing-along of a Christmas classic. Lucky for us that only played out in my head.

The Holly character is as much of a staple to this genre as the hard-hearted big-city corporate guy (or sometimes girl, or gay guy, depending on the demographic Hallmark is trying to hit). But as embodied by Wade, Holly is exactly what Ben and this musical need to make it shine. Their instant attraction and quick fall into love is as formulaic as it sounds, happening so fast, possibly too fast and furious, because of all the secondary plots getting in the way. But we just have to accept it, without really getting to see how or why. Their required love/fight near the end feels as inauthentic as you can imagine, Mainly because we never saw them truly come together enough to say those things to one another. Still, it’s Christmas, ya know, so we just take it in and believe that they are destined to be together – and we also must try to ignore the idea that Holly loves and is more connected to the kids than to their father, who she hardly has been given any time to interact with, let alone one-on-one romantic bonding time.

Yet, full of mischief and mistletoe, Chris, Mrs. is all about the suspension of disbelief and enjoying the sleight ride to happiness and love. I would be curious to see what a different director who was not so attached to the creation of the music, book, and lyrics would do with this show, as I think it needs a sharper eye and a clearer directorial perspective. The set needs a bit of constructual stabilization, as does the big city vs small town vibe and holiday sensibility judgment. But let’s put that all behind us, and enjoy the coming together of two picture-perfect people who barely know one another, but who the whole town seems to be trying to bring together just in time for the lighting of the tree. Do I sound a big bah-humbuggy? Well, maybe I do need a trip to a winter country lodge to find my true love and gain some holiday spirit. But if you are already there, wanting a big splashy holiday-themed musical that feels like a Hallmark movie, you have found it in Boldly Productions‘ Chris, Mrs. – A New Holiday Musical, now playing at the Winter Garden Theatre. It delivers just as promised, without guilt or regret.