'Santa's Workshop' is fun of mild sort

SANTA'S WORKSHOP; Ragan Theater, Utah Valley Stage College; written by James and Lisa Arrington; directed by Elaine Hansen; running time 55 minutes

OREM — The colors are certainly Christmassy and bright. There's lots of green and red.

The set is fun with dolls and toys hanging out all over. A talking Jack-in-the-Box adds interest.

The costuming is clever. All the elves have funny hats and the appropriately pointed shoes to match their ears.

And the music is lively.

So why don't the children laugh at this Christmas story?

The second-graders watching the show on Thursday certainly were full of noise as they arrived, and they were in awe of the colored lights and snowman projected onto the curtains.

Once the show began, they settled right in to watch, and they seemed intent on finding out how the elves would stop Santa from giving up on Christmas.

But they didn't laugh.

Maybe they were smiling in the dark, because there are some nice moments. It's a colorful scene.

The toy machine is novel, and it's fun to watch toys become life-size and then shrink again to toy-size. The human toys really look like a big G.I. Joe, Cinderella and a ballerina.

It's a simple and sweet enough story. Santa is fed up with all the letters demanding lots of toys. He's feeling unappreciated and decides to head out to Hawaii this year instead of tending to his job.

The elves are tired, and at first they go along with Santa's plan until they realize what it would mean to skip Christmas.

Their task then becomes one of persuading Santa that there's still a lot of good reasons to do Christmas.

They find a child who still has a pure heart and bring him/her to Santa.

Cast members are energetic, and they try hard to punch this up. Maybe they try too hard.

Santa is somewhat quavery and a little mean. I think that's hard for children to take. It's also odd to find Santa on the side of giving up on children and Christmas. He's usually somebody you can count on to be jolly and upbeat.

This little playlet has potential. It feels like all the elements are there, ready to gel. It feels like serious fun will break out any minute.

But in the end, it's only fun of a mild sort.

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E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com