couple of hours of pure holiday entertainment, The Christmas Schooner should not be missed.” (The Winchester Star, Virginia) ¾ “Christmas Schooner Wows Again. Filled with heart, charming music…has all the makings for becoming a true Christmas classic. Brimming with emotion, regional flavor and history…filled with anticipation, love and giving.” (Alpena News, Alpena, MI) ¾ “The story of a family, of dreams followed, of tradition, of Christmas at risk and Christmas saved, of tragedy endured (and relieved by comedy) and of appreciation deepened. It’s like a Hallmark television Christmas special but live and with songs…. [The] audience loved it… Christmas Schooner will move you.” (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) ¾ “Like Quilters, another heartland musical based on history, The Christmas Schooner gives us a glimpse of a harder, yet somehow simpler and sweeter, time. That’s something people crave at the holidays.” (Spokesman.com, Spokane, Washington)
Theatre at the Center
¾ “Spokane Civic Theatre is presenting an affecting Christmas musical reminding viewers of some of our shared values: community, self-sacrifice, the continuity of tradition…. the mix of sadness and resilience undercuts sentimentality with inspiring results…. After the rush of a busy workday, The Christmas Schooner's emphasis on community and sharing put me right into a holiday mood…. a Christmas show that deserves to be replayed in future seasons.” (The Pacific Northwest Inlander, Spokane, Washington)
¾ An “exquisite score… ballads, duets and anthems of astonishing complexity [including] a maritime hymn as haunting and mysterious as any passage in Melville.” (This Month on Stage, national, and Windy City Times, Chicago)
¾ “A tuneful score and warm-hearted humanity that wins over the most bitter of cynics.” (New City, Chicago)
and all of which fit the feeling of the piece quite well.” (PotomacStages.com, Washington, DC and Virginia)
¾ “A Favorite Christmas Show Gets a Glorious Send-Off” “I looked back through the Tribune archives this week to see which Chicago Christmas show I’ve seen the most: The Goodman Theatre’s A Christmas Carol, around a dozen times. Carol is such a tradition that I’ve
“A great family story [that] tells us what is great about America…. It is about helping others out during tough economic times.” —Mike Yonkura, Director, Royalton Players, Cleveland Sun-Star, Cleveland, Ohio ¾ “Put The Christmas Schooner on your must see list for holidays.... Make Schooner a family tradition. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. ” (ChicagoCritic.com, Tom Williams, 2011), reviewing The Mercury Theater Chicago production ¾ “Schooner is delightful… What a way to start off the holiday season! Fantastic!” (Door County Advocate, Door County, Wisconsin) ¾ “If you’ve seen one too many editions of A Christmas Carol… here’s a chance to refresh your taste buds for the season… a well constructed family show… well defined characters…. The piece is charming, in part because it has a fine score of over a dozen songs most of which admirably advance the story or illustrate a character,
Skylight Opera Theatre
long felt the Tribune would not be doing its duty if somebody didn’t issue an annual report on the current state of Scroogedom…. But if I think about which show I’ve most cheerfully revisited it’s the annual Bailiwick Repertory Theatre production of The Christmas Schooner…. I first saw the show in 1996 and I’ve been back almost every year since…. This lovely musical by John Reeger and Julie Shannon follows the travails of the crew of the much-loved Christmas ships that once sailed down a wintry Lake Michigan to bring Christmas trees to immigrant Chicagoans who missed the traditions of the homeland. This isn’t a show set in Dickensian London or on Fifth Avenue. Its most important scenes are set in the old Clark Street Dock. Its score isn’t made up of carols or spectacular production numbers, but rooted in the traditional music of the Midwest and its immigrant populations. And its characters aren’t emulating Daddy Warbucks. They’re regular people trying to do their best…. This year’s Christmas Schooner is the best of all the years I’ve seen. (Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 2008 )
In 2009, Tribune critic Chris Jones named Schooner the Chicago region’s #1 holiday show.
Skylight Opera Theatre