Love Letters

After 13 performances in 17 days, A Christmas Carol has successfully completed its whirlwind run.   I’d like to use my final post about this show for some personal reflections.  (I’ll try not to get too sappy or sentimental.)  The holiday season is a time to celebrate, rejoice and give thanks.  But it is also a time to remember, and sometimes the loss of a loved one can be especially poignant at this otherwise festive time of year.   If I can speak for the cast and crew of A Christmas Carol, we are especially thankful that our performances touched members of our local community in so many ways.   It was nice to hear patrons’ positive post-show comments, and nicer still to have some of our youngest audience members approach us for autographs.  But it was two letters we received that meant the most to us.

Marian Myles sent us the Snoopy card pictured above, along with a handwritten note that read (in part) as follows:  “I enjoyed your barn and the play so much!!  … I was so excited to be there and it got me out of my winter-holiday blues.  I miss my sister Nancy so much but I know God is taking care of her with his angels.  She would want me to be happy and celebrate her life every day.  … What a miracle performance.  It lifted my heart and soul.  I felt like Scrooge [dancing] in that London attic, my spirit lifted.  … P.S. I had to give each cast member a big kiss for a very enjoyable play!  It felt great.”

Gillian Faust (originally from London, England) expressed the following sentiments:  “I want to express a sincere and hearty ‘Thank You’ for a most delightful evening earlier this month.   My husband, a huge fan of the original movie, enjoyed the different interpretation of the story and I was thoroughly delighted with the polished performances and especially impressed with the young actors who were as professional as any I’ve seen on the stage.  The English accents, especially the East End cockney dialect, were ‘spot on’ and the English Country dancing was brilliantly choreographed and perfectly executed.   Without exception, the actors were talented and I particularly enjoyed and was moved by that beautiful duet performed by the two young lasses.  With many thanks, and the best of British luck for a continued successful run. … Happy Christmas and God bless us, every one.”

To paraphrase Scrooge, the true happiness cannot be measured out in dollars.  As a Carol cast member, I am more than glad to be paid in smiles.  

For information on upcoming shows in 2012, go to www.farmingtonplayers.org or call the box office at 248-553-2955.  Find us on Facebook under "Farmington Players".