BY BOB CURTRIGHT
Wichita Eagle correspondent
"Here's Love," the 1963 musical adaptation of the beloved holiday classic "Miracle on 34th Street," is almost the forgotten musical from Meredith "The Music Man" Willson, despite such enduring songs as "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" and "Pinecones and Hollyberries."
But Crown Uptown Professional Dinner Theatre is putting Willson's third and final musical (after 1957's "Music Man" and 1960's "The Unsinkable Molly Brown") back into the spotlight in place of its usual holiday variety show this season, said founder Ted Morris.
"I don't know why it's not done more often," Morris said. "It played for 334 performances on Broadway. I don't think anybody has done it in Wichita since we've been here -- over 30 years."
The show, set in 1947, opens next week and will run Thursdays through Sundays through Dec. 21.
"It's a show that makes you feel good," said Krystian Fish, 12, who stars as Susie, the skeptical girl who comes to believe that one special department store Santa is the Real Deal. "It makes you believe that Santa Claus is real."
Already a veteran of nine Crown shows, most recently "Fiddler on the Roof," Krystian says she likes to perform for other kids because they are so receptive.
"They laugh and clap a lot, even before anything really happens," she said. "Adults may like a show, but kids want to really believe in it."
"'Here's Love' is such a family show that it's perfect for the holidays," said Crown music director Kim Dugger. Last seen in "Guys and Dolls," Dugger is also taking the role of Doris, Susie's practical single mom who, as a Macy's manager, hires the department store Santas.
"Doris wants her daughter to grow up with reality rather than fantasy," Dugger said. "But after she hires a man who claims to be the real Santa, she begins to doubt herself, to wonder what she really believes."
Also in the musical is David Jon Davis, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based actor making his Crown debut. Davis plays Fred, a Marine adjusting to civilian life as a lawyer who becomes friendly with Doris and her daughter and gets swept up in proving in court that Santa really exists.
Playing Kris Kringle, who becomes the lightning rod for everybody's holiday beliefs, is Mikey Wiseman, a native Texan now living and performing in North Carolina, also making his Crown debut.
"Kris is firmly convinced of who he is, even though not many people believe him," Wiseman said. "Despite that, he spreads cheer and goodwill and discovers that people still want to believe. He takes the commercialism out of Christmas and brings back the pure, good feelings of the holiday."