It’s no big secret that most Broadway musicals these days are adaptations of popular movies and shows. As both a film and theatre critic it can be fascinating to see the way the 2 artforms work together and create different art (and sometimes it goes from movie to Broadway to movie again like in The Color Purple in theaters this month.) This dynamic of screen to stage adaptations is fresh on my mind because last night I saw the new adaptation of Christmas in Connecticut at Pioneer Theatre Company. I love the 1945 film starring Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan, and had been looking forward to seeing this stage adaptation all year. My friend theatre critic Tim Leininger gave it a rave review on his channel last year and so I was thrilled to see that PTC was going to be only the 2nd company to mount the adaptation. I even had the chance to see the movie on the big screen at the new Maven Cinemas in American Fork (which I am super excited about) on Friday to get ready for this musical on Saturday (this seemed like a great idea at the time but in retrospect it might have been better to have some distance from the movie but oh well.)

Anyway, I saw the musical and to say it is a loose adaptation would be an understatement but if judged on its own merits it is a charming rom-com musical and something we need in the holiday Broadway landscape. Currently there are 4 stories that make up almost all of the Christmas shows done by companies (A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Story, Elf: The Musical, and White Christmas.) I love all of these 4 but if Christmas in Connecticut became a 5th option I wouldn’t complain!

QUICK TAKE

To give the analysis I would like I have to share some spoilers to both the movie and the show so I thought I’d just give a quick take and then a deeper dive below. Basically Christmas in Connecticut is a bubbly rom-com that particularly in the 2nd act becomes a relationship farce with multiple couples all stuck in a big house interacting with all kinds of miscommunications. The highlight of the show is a sequence called “Chemistry” where the power has gone out and the back and forth between the various couples had serious Noises Off vibes. The cast at PTC is uniformly strong with Alyse Alan Louis and Eric William Morris making convincing ‘enemies to lovers’ leads. Like I said, once it gets to that second act the script is witty and the holiday shenanigans are a ton of fun. Shelley Butler does an excellent job directing the actors using the whole stage as they go in and out of doors trying to keep track of all their lies. I also thought the scenic and costume design by Lex Liang was strong with period-accurate hair by Cynthia Johnson. If you love Hallmark movies or other holiday rom-coms you’ll love this show! I hope you find time during this busy holiday season to see Christmas in Connecticut at PTC. You won’t regret it! You can purchase tickets here.

DEEP DIVE

So the biggest change they make from the movie in Christmas in Connecticut is they change the love interest for Liz so she doesn’t fall for the soldier Jefferson Jones any more. Instead she falls for a new character named Victor who is a socialist and activist who meets Liz earlier in the story when she is still an idealistic writer. Now that she has to create a facade of the happy homemaker he is disgusted with her and they have an enemies to lovers type arc instead of the surprise of the film with her unexpectedly falling for the wholesome soldier (they provide a love interest for the soldier in a character named Gladys who is the fact checker who doesn’t believe Liz’s story.)

I really liked both the leads at PTC and in particular Morris playing Victor had a snark to him that was charming and very attractive. And like I said the “Chemistry” number was excellent as was “The Ornament Song” that ends Act 1. I guess my only gripe is I do think in making Liz an activist and a modern woman who actively hates all the homemaking articles she’s writing she becomes a bit of a feminist cliche. Surprisingly it can actually feel less nuanced than the original character from the film. There’s something about the snark of Barbara Stanwyck in the movie that’s refreshing. She doesn’t have any real problems deluding thousands of readers as long as she doesn’t get caught. I watched the movie and thought ‘she’s remarkably modern for a woman from 1945.’ After all, she doesn’t have the slightest clue how to change a diaper or flip a pancake and her greatest desire is to own a fur coat not to have a family or run a barn. If she has to fool gullible readers then she has no problem doing so, and in a way isn’t that more modern than someone who has to proclaim how modern they are?

If they were going to ask for my advice I’d suggest they do what they can to get everyone to the house a lot sooner. The strength of the show is the screwball antics of all the couples lying to each other and with each lie it gets more silly and romantic. There’s a very funny scene where Victor is pretending to be the soldier and he and Liz kiss but she doesn’t know it is him because the power is out. That is gold and the kind of scene rom-com fans will love. Also a scene where they eat Christmas dinner is very funny with gags like Victor is a vegetarian but has been portrayed in columns as an expert poultry carver. That’s an amusing juxtaposition for the character as he’s reluctantly trying to play his part.

I also think they could create more jealousy on the part of Victor over the soldier Jefferson. Make the soldier more of a credible threat for Liz’s heart. This could work for Gladys also becoming jealous as she becomes more interested leading to more humor. In any rom-com it’s obvious who the leads are going to end up with but the more tangled you can make the journey the more fun we usually have (like if we think of Pride and Prejudice Lizzie has several options come up in Wickham and Mr Collins as the ‘enemies to lovers’ overall romance develops between her and Darcy.)

Anyway, this deep dive is just meant to be helpful and share my thoughts as a huge fan of the Christmas in Connecticut film. It’s still a very fun night of theater, and I look forward to seeing it grow as a musical going-forward. You can purchase tickets here.

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