'A Very Williamston Christmas' play puts local spin on Hallmark tradition
It may be that “ A Very Williamston Christmas” is the perfect name for a Christmas show at the Williamston Theatre.
Choosing the right show for the Christmas season is critical for a local arts company. The month of December finds most entertainment venues filled to the gills with families enjoying each other’s company during the holiday season. A popular Christmas show can make the season.
Tony Caselli, artistic director for the Williamston Theatre, was waiting for a response to his request to produce “The Sherlock Holmes Christmas Spoof”, but nothing came.
Robert Hawlmark, a pen name for someone who is closely associated with the theater, threw out the idea that he would write something to fill the spot. Caselli told him to give it a try.
Hawlmark remembered all the warm and fuzzy Christmas specials that Hallmark presented over the years and thought they would make a great basis for a rollicking spoof.
The writer had not written a play before, but he perched himself in front of the TV and began to watch all of the Hallmark movies on YouTube looking for ideas. “I watched 10 of them and I definitely saw many patterns,” Hawlmark said.
As he watched the movies, the charming town of Williamston fit into the Hallmark plot lines perfectly.
Hawlmark the writer, said, “I needed an inspiration for the story and when I got it, the play just flew off my fingers. Writer’s block is usually deadly, but this was fun. I finished it in 30 days. I was amazed. At the end I said to myself, 'Wow, I guess it’s done!'”
Never having written a play before, he was fully ready for Caselli to say “This is terrible”.
The writer said, “He liked it, which was very affirming for me.”
The story is familiar. A young woman is obsessed with her successful career in a big city. Her boss tells her to go back to her hometown for the holidays to relax a bit. Of course, Williamston is that hometown, and soon she connects with an old flame from high school.
The clandestine writer has been enjoying the rehearsals. “When you hear the play out loud, it’s a whole different monster," Hawlmark said. "The cast is playing around with the dialogue which is fun.
“It’s reading similar to what I wanted. It's essentially a romantic comedy. The cast is playing it straight, that’s what makes it funny, and they are finding their rhythms.”
Hawlmark created the play with all the movies still rumbling around in his head.
“I wanted to use projections for all of the scenes and of course I wanted the actors to wear scarves and other winter things," Hawlmark said. "The story line is important, and the action gets more exciting as the plot goes along.
“As I wrote the play, the characters begin to get a mind of their own with a distinctive personality. They get their voice and they almost write the play themselves.”
Hawlmark would love to sell the play to other small-town theater companies. “I will allow them to change the name of the play to fit their town and insert the name in the title “A Very…(insert name) ……Christmas.”
IF YOU GO
A Very Williamston Christmas
Directed by Tony Caselli; written by Robert Hawlmark
Williamston Theatre – 122 S. Putnam, Williamston
Show will run Nov. 23-Dec. 23. Official opening night will be Nov. 26.
For complete information on prices and performance days and times: www.williamstontheatre.org, 517-655-SHOW.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Williamston Theatre to host 'A Very Williamston Christmas' play
