Rehearsals for The Santa Diaries have started in Faribault, Minnesota. Michael Lambert, who is playing Will Hawes, sent me an email.
Hello Mala and Laura,
The Merlin Players‘ rehearsals of The Santa Diaries started this week, and we are off to a great start. Julianna Skluzacek (Madame Director) has put together a great cast of veteran Merlin alumni and newbies (some of us were even in Merlin’s first show 20 years ago, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life. Apropos, no?). The kids (most are in the pic) are truly impressive and have set the bar high for the adults, although the “casserole ladies” are hi-lar-i-ous. Although this is the land of 10,000 hotdishes, not casseroles.
The Casserole Ladies have even come up with some new recipes, including sweet potatoes with tater tots, and sweet potatoes with cream of mushroom soup (very Minnesotan)! The beatnik award goes to the sweet potato casserole with parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. We may even feature some at the opening night gala!
Note from Mala: I suggested they might want to try Cream of Lutefisk soup. Michael said he threw up a little in his throat at the idea.
I think that you are going to like how your play was cast. ‘Brande-e-e-e’ is a beautiful amazon power house of an actress, VERY extroverted and delightful. ‘Sandy’ is one of the sweetest men around, jokingly complaining about his blocking for the show (Ha!). He played ‘Kris’ in ‘A Miracle on 34th Street’ here a few years ago (type casting!). Cynthia, who plays ‘Jessica’ and I have been good friends for years, so our banter/repartee/chemistry is pretty spot on. ‘Martha’ is my good friend Stephanie who can’t sing ‘I’ll be Home for Christmas’ without tearing up. I love her!
I’ll work on getting more pics, but I’ll have someone else take them, as I’m hardly off stage! Thank goodness for the Timmy and Marley scenes, so I can at least get a drink of water, ha!
Michael (Will)
PS. Today would’ve been my mom’s birthday … almost lost it on the “I miss mom” line during rehearsal last night… She would have loved this show.
The Santa Diaries Project 