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Christmas Schooner
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The Christmas Schooner is a musical by John Reeger and Julie Shannon's, based on the real life story of a Great Lakes schooner captain who risks life and limb to transport fir trees from Michigan's Upper Pennisula to Chicago's German immigrants, homesick for their beloved "Tannenbaums." The musical provides a need change from the usually typical holiday fare and is fast becoming a Chicago classic. Its focus on the importance of family and the simple traditions of childhood contrasts refreshingly with the rampant consumerism surrounding many of our current holiday celebrations.
The Christmas Schooner's opening anthem declares that "We all have songs; we all have stories. We all have good times, and times when things go wrong." Several of the cast members are positioned as "storytellers" who describe the shows historical context. The show opener is the only show stopper, as this number foregrounds immediately the shows many strengths and its weaknesses. To add to the merit list of the play, this year's production, directed by Julia Lowe Walker, features a confident choral ensemble whose rousing execution comfortably fills the relatively small space. Richard and Jacqueline Penrod's set conveys the shows different locales Chicago, Manistique, on-board the schooner -- clearly and effectively demonstrates their interconnectedness.
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Show Biography - Christmas Schooner
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 The Great American History Theater has a family Christmas show that is in the act of becoming a seasonal habit. In its second year in St. Paul, Schooner's got what a Holiday Season musical needs. It carries a feel-good story that's just dark enough to be interesting, plus it has singing, dancing, a likable little boy and a crew of hearty German immigrant characters. And the History Theater's production generally succeeds.
Schooner revamps a detail of Lake Michigan history from the 1880. In the remote northern-shore town of Manistique, live the Stossels, a German immigrant family. Peter Stossel captains his own schooner, the refurbished Molly Doon. When his sister writes from distant Chicago, yearning for a "tannenbaum" like they had in Germany, Peter thins his woods of young trees and risks the ice-chunked, winter storm-prone Lake Michigan to bring Christmas trees to the German immigrants of Chicago.
John Reeger, was the writer of the book for Schooner, and has succeeded in capturing the resilience of the immigrants and a real picture of their struggle to both hold onto their German past and to step into their new American lives. His characters are strong, except for Stossel who lacks contrast to excite interest as a character. He's too nice and verges on the self-righteous. Boyish Josh Foldy does what he can with this white-bread role. He achieves moments of intimate desire with Alma Stossel, but they linger too long, and he lacks volume as a singer. The role in particular is not an easy one to play, specially in contrast to Fred Wagner's fully realized and witty Grandpa Stossel. Wagner carries the with a natural touch to it as he wears the beard on his face.
A dramatic ramp juts out from the center of Erik Paulson's revolving set. The ramp serves well as a schooner, with a mast hoisted amid ships, and as a pier in Chicago, but as the rear wall of the Stossel family house, it's frankly awkward, and characters must constantly step over its tail end. Paulson's snow-covered evergreens create the sense of a Christmas card, and his back-lit cityscape conjures Michigan Avenue in Chicago.
The Christmas Schooner has become a beloved holiday tradition over the past twelve years, giving a wonderful insight of the families and tradition. Schooner tells the story of Peter and Alma Stossel, whose pioneering spirit is full of the energy and dreams of America in the 1870's.
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