“King Island Christmas” (2009)

Posted by Gail M. Burns - December 2009

It is sort of nice to revisit a show because you can focus on the details rather than expending all your energy following the plot and getting to know the characters. So even if you, like me, saw Patricia Birch’s dynamic staging of “King Island Christmas at NYSTI in 2005 , I encourage you to go again. Four years is just about the right gap for the show feel like an old friend who hasn’t been home for the holidays in a while. You are glad to see them again.

This little oratorio (“little” means it runs 70 minutes with no intermission; “oratorio” means that it almost completely sung through) has a book by Deborah Brevoort and a score by David Friedman, and it is based on a charming picture book by Jean Rogers with illustrations by Rie Muñoz. Muñoz spent the winter of 1951-1952 on King Island, a one-mile wide rock in the Bering Straits, and this is her memory of that time. (You can see some of Muñoz’ husband Juan’s photos of King Island HERE.)

The King Island Native Community of Iñupiat people and others never lived on the island year-round, they just wintered there, spending the summer months on the Alaskan mainland and, after it was founded, in the city of Nome. The population never rose above 200 souls in the one village, Ukivok, built on stilts on the southern side of the island, facing Russia. It was abandoned by 1970. You can see some of

There was a school and one Roman Catholic church in the town – no stores, and no dock. The islanders had to row out in their walrus sink boats called Oomiaks to meet the freighters that brought them provisions in the winter before the Arctic ice locked them in, and in the spring when it finally went out.

The story Rogers, Muñoz, Brevoort and Friedman tell is of the year the ice came in before the freighter, the North Star, could reach the island. Aboard that ship were not only months worth of provisions, but Father Carroll, the priest, without whom they could not celebrate the Christmas Mass. After determining that the ice has not yet reached the lee of the island, the villagers decide to carry the Oomiak over the mountainous center of the island, an arduous and dangerous effort that takes the dedication and cooperation of the whole community.

Brevoort and Friedman have kept their work in the cheerful, straight forward style of a children’s picture book. Nothing is complicated and everything is clearly explained. This makes King Island Christmas an excellent show for children 5-10 years old (younger ones may enjoy it but will probably not be able to understand the lyrics and follow the story.) There is nothing scary and Birch keeps everyone in their colorful winter-wear moving briskly around Eugene Lee’s multi-level set.

It took a village to get that Oomiak over the mountain, and it takes a village to perform this show, or at least that’s what it feels like at NYSTI. Their cast is about a quarter the size of the population of King Island in 1951, and they fill the stage with energy and wonderful music. Birch has assembled not just a fine cast of actor/singers, but also a chorus of folks who may not want to act but love to sing. They are seated in two sets of high-up bleachers, upstage right and upstage left, and add an extra power to the singing.

Much of the singing is choral, and all ranges and ages of voices are present. There are some beautiful solos, and the cast often splits into distinct groups – children, men, women. Worthy of a special mention are Paul Carter as the Narrator and Oolorana, the village leader; Sam Stuto as Little Eir; Shannon Johnson as his mother, Mary; and David Tass Rodriguez as Father Carroll. Johnson is particularly fine voice, and her solo on The Gift of Trouble was truly moving.

One of the things I liked best about this show the last time I saw it was that the Oomiak is human, and I liked it even better this time when he was played by the talented and charismatic David Girard. The men of the cast literally carry Girard to the top of the set and back down again in a series of neatly choreographed maneuvers.

The Oomiak also gets a song about its transition from walrus to boat, which does a nice job of conveying the relationship between nature and humankind in such a harsh environment. Later in the show John Romeo portrays a villager who tells a story of how native custom demands that hunters treat the walrus, giving thanks to the animal for the gifts it is giving – flesh for food and bones and skin for building (there are no trees on King Island).

For those of you who are not theatre geeks or are too young to be aware of such things, Patricia Birch is a big, big deal in the theatre world, and so is Eugene Lee. Birch’s best known work is as the choreographer of the original 1972 Broadway production and the 1978 film of Grease. As a performer she has been a soloist with Martha Graham and Agnes DeMille, and originated the role of Anybodys in the Broadway and film versions of West Side Story. Lee is a Tony-award winning set designer with Wicked, Sweeney Todd, Seussical, and Candide to his credit, among many, many other shows. He and Birch have worked together for many years designing sets and creating production numbers on Saturday Night Live.

At least half this cast are under twenty-five. They are students in NYSTI education programs, high school and college-age interns with the company, and Sage Colleges students. What a thrill for all those young people to get to work with these theatre giants! And what a treat for us in the audience who get to see such outstanding work for a top ticket price of $20! I swear the Capital/Berkshire region is the BEST place to see live theatre in the whole country!

In a recent Troy Record article oddly titled Real People Make Holiday Show Magical (what other kind of people are there??) Rodriguez noted that he fell in love with the theatre as a child on a school trip to NYSTI, and that performing for the school audiences is what he enjoys most about being able to appear with the company. How lovely!

For the first time, I attended a NYSTI show with an audience of a few hundred elementary school children, which was a very pleasant experience. When I entered the theatre they were all making a cheerful clamor but as soon as the first actor set foot on stage they went absolutely silent. They get an “A” from me for good spirits, good manners, and excellent theatre etiquette, although I am afraid that I can only give them a “C” for knowing when to applaud. I quickly realized that it was my job to clap vigorously at the appropriate places to give the kids the idea. (Hint: When the company finishes a great big energetic musical number then stands still and quiet facing the audience with big smiles on their faces and their arms outstretched, they want you to clap.)

While King Island Christmas is a really rousing show, it is not in the least bit Christmas-y, not even in the scene set in the church on Christmas Eve. This bugged me no end in 2005 and still bugs me now. The NYSTI press release for this production explained that Brevoort rejected the work of several potential composer/collaborators, until “a friend suggested that she needed a ‘good Jewish composer’ without any Christmas baggage” and recommended Friedman. I love Friedman’s music and I have no more problem with the idea of a Jew writing a Christmas Oratorio than he apparently had with writing it. I do have a problem with the need to remove all mention of the religious aspects of Christmas from a story about a group of Roman Catholics making a great effort to get their Priest ashore in order to celebrate Christmas in their Church. Their hunger is spiritual. I would guess that Brevoort was counseled that the piece wouldn’t be “commercial” if it was specifically Christian. I think that is very sad.

King Island Christmas at the New York State Theatre Institute for runs through December 18 at the Schacht Fine Arts Center, 5 Division Street, on the campus of Russell Sage College http://www.sage.edu in Troy, NY. The show runs an hour and ten minutes with no intermission. As is always the case with a NYSTI production, this show is intended as educational theatre and is recommended for children in kindergarten and up.

Tickets are Adults $20, Senior Citizen & Student $16, Child to age 12 $10. Tickets to this show would be a great holiday gift, and so would the CD. NYSTI is offering buy-one-get-one tickets, for the Friday and Saturday evening performances ONLY (may not be combined with any other offer.) Assistive Listening Devices available at all performances and some performances are interpreted in sign language. Call the box office at 518-274-3256 for tickets and more information.

For more information on this production I recommend picking up or clicking through to the NYSTI Study Guide (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).

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