Lakewood Playhouse Performs Classic Holiday Tale

LAKEWOOD, WA — As an 8-year-old, Virginia O'Hanlon in 1897 wrote to The Sun newspaper in New York to ask whether Santa Claus was real. Her friends, she said, told her there was no Santa Claus, but her father countered, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so."

Desperate for an answer, Virginia took it on faith that one way or the other the paper would steer her right. But the editorial response provided by The Sun's Francis Pharcellus Church ended up as the stuff of legend, inspiring made-for-TV movies, children's books, and theatre performances for the next 100 years.

"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus," Church replied. "He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist … Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias."

For the second show of its 80th anniversary season, the Lakewood Playhouse will present its interpretation of this classic family holiday story in "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus," showing Nov. 23 through Dec. 16 at 5729 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd.

Featuring an "all-star roster of local actors," led by Parker Dean as Church and Norah Gawryczik as titular protagonist Virginia, the production will show Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and on Sundays at 2 p.m. The show will also mark the Playhouse debut for director Aaron Mohs-Hale, who is also the group's technical director.

Tickets cost $26 for general admission, $23 for military personnel and seniors, and $20 for students and educators. Two special "pay-what-you-can" nights will be held Nov. 29 and Dec. 6 at 8 p.m.

For more information on this production, visit BroadwayWorld.com.

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