PUHI — “My Three Angels,” a comedic Christmas play for the entire family, opens Dec. 14 at the Puhi Theatrical Warehouse. Presented by the Kaua‘i Community Players and directed by Jonel Langenfeld, the play will run Thursdays through Sundays from
PUHI — “My Three Angels,” a comedic Christmas play for the entire family, opens Dec. 14 at the Puhi Theatrical Warehouse.
Presented by the Kaua‘i Community Players and directed by Jonel Langenfeld, the play will run Thursdays through Sundays from Dec. 14 to 30. Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances begin at 7 p.m. and Sunday matinees begin at 4 p.m.
“My Three Angels,” written by Sam and Bella Spewack, takes place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in French Guiana around 1920.
Felix Ducotel, the proprietor of a general store, has hired three convicts to fix his roof, states a news release. Ducotel, who lives with his wife Emilie and daughter Marie-Louise, is a kind but utterly incompetent businessman, losing or giving away most of his merchandise.
Ducotel’s cousin, who owns the store, arrives from France and threatens to close it down upon seeing the disarray. Traveling with him is his nephew Paul, who had a romance with Marie-Louise in France and has now become engaged to a wealthy heiress, arranged by his uncle, which breaks Marie-Louise’s heart.
The convicts eavesdrop and become fond of the Ducotel family, determined to save the store and protect Marie-Louise. Possessing every criminal art and penal grace, they set matters right and, in doing so, redeem themselves as real life angels to the grateful family, according to the release.
The production opened on Broadway at the Morosco Theatre in 1953 and closed in 1954 after 344 performances.
“It’s very lighthearted, almost like a melodrama,” KCP Treasurer Dottie Bekeart said of the play, which is presented as a staged reading. “I think even kids would enjoy it.”
KCP President Wil Welsh says the play is a warm, family-friendly Christmas story.
“It’s funny,” he said. “Even though two of them are murderers and one is a scammer, they are all human and friendly … they become the angels because of what they do for the family.”
Langenfeld, the director, is a professor of theater and education at State University of New York at Oswego. A former actor and director on Kaua‘i, she is currently on sabbatical for fall 2012 and spending three months on island.
She says she is excited to be directing once again for KCP and that “My Three Angels” will “hold plenty of laughs and time for play, as well as the opportunity to tell a heart-warming holiday tale.”
Tickets cost $10 opening weekend and $15 for the remainder of the run, with discount prices available for seniors, students and Kaua‘i Community Players members. Tickets can be purchased online at www.kauaicommunityplayers.org or by calling Brown Paper Tickets at (800) 838-3006.
The Puhi Theatrical Warehouse is located at 4411 E. Kikowaena St.
For more information, contact Lana Coffman at 651-9994.
• Chris D’Angelo, lifestyle writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 241) or lifestyle@thegardenisland.com.
