‘Miracle on 34th Street’ comes VBT Black Box theater

Van Buren Community Players will present “Miracle on 34th Street, the Play” on Dec. 6-8 and 13-15 at the Van Buren Community Center’s new Black Box Theater at 46425 Tyler Rd.
The play is adapted by Mountain Community Theater from a novel by Valentine Davies.
“It has been a pleasure working with this very talented cast and bringing this Christmas classic to life!” said director Laura Kitzman.
“I am looking forward to audience reactions.”
The cast of 22 includes Scott Peets as Kris Kringle, Tiffany Darby as Doris Walker, Lauren Broughton as Susan Walker, John Thiede as Fred Gayley and many other members of the community.
In addition to this classic story about love, decency, goodwill and the meaning of Christmas, audiences will enjoy dancing elves, Christmas caroling and a Christmas parade featuring reindeer and a sleigh, elves, and of course, Santa.
In this Christmas classic, an old man going by the name of Kris Kringle fills in for an intoxicated Santa in Macy’s annual Thanksgiving Day Parade and is then hired as Santa at Macy’s.
Kris unleashes waves of goodwill by referring parents to other stores for gifts — putting the child before the store. A friendship develops between Kris Kringle and six-year-old Susan.
Kringle surprises customers and employees alike by claiming that he really is Santa Claus. This leads to a court case to determine if he is just a nice old man with a white beard, or really Santa. Will Susan agree with the court’s decision?
Performances are Dec. 6-8 and 13-15. Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday performances are at 2 p.m. in the Black Box Theater, inside the VBT Community Center.
The matinee performance on Sunday, Dec. 15, will also feature the Belleville Community Chorus with several Christmas carols.
After each performance, audience members will be able take pictures with Santa, the elves, and the sleigh in the lobby.
Tickets to the performances are $16-$20 each and can be purchased online by going to https://vanburentwp.recdesk.com/Community/Program or in person at the Community Center desk Monday-Friday, 6 a.m. – 8 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. For ticket assistance by phone, call (734) 699-8921. If there are any remaining tickets, they will be available for purchase at the Community Center desk one hour prior to show time. For more information on this show and all upcoming shows, visit www.vanburencommunityplayers.com .