I went to see an Expressions show tonight in downtown Lakeville, mostly because three of the actors in this play were also in Mind Over Matt. I had a good time, it was cool seeing the guys again and a bunch of us had fun chatting at Applebee’s afterward. However, I had a question for the director about the end of one scene that took him completely by surprise.
It took place on Christmas Eve at a bed and breakfast with a handful of people staying there, one of whom was Santa Claus. The owners had invited her father for the holiday, he had turned into a big old grouch when his wife died and Santa wanted to instill the Christmas spirit back into him. During the first act, we see the wife and her dad continue a family tradition of lighting candles, putting them on the mantle of the fireplace, then letting them burn until they go out on their own.
An actual tradition I’ve never heard of before—the director told me about it at Applebee’s—is turning down the lights before blowing out candles on a birthday cake. Thus, at the end of a scene (after the candle lighting), one guy looks around, turns down the lights, starts quietly singing “Merry Christmas To Me” to the tune of “Happy Birthday”, then blows out the candles and leaves the room.
A very important note about the stage setup: the light switch is behind the coat tree. To turn the lights down so he could blow out the candles, he had to reach through a bunch of coats. When he did, one of them moved. Then he walked away from the coats singing “Merry Christmas To Me”. Basically, what I saw was this guy singing because he just gave himself a Christmas present: a wallet that was in someone’s jacket pocket. And boy, if that was Santa’s jacket, you’re damn right you better watch out.
