A Tiny Gift At Sunstone

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Image: Sunstone Studios

Sunstone Studios - Gift of the Magi

Just down the street from the dense cluster of the biggest theater productions this holiday season, Sunstone Studios presents a cozy, little production of The Gift Of The Magi. The stage is set for a classy, little vintage radio show written for the stage by Bob Cooner. A cast of five shares a tiny space in front of a Christmas tree with a tiny foley area, two music stands and three prop microphones.

Amber Regan directs a tightly woven staging of the classic story as presented in the style of an old, tiny-budget radio show. Ekene Ikegwuani serves as a casually charismatic host for the show, aiding in the action swirling around the stage in the periphery of the classic central story.

Rick Bingen and Maura Atwood play a struggling couple living in New York. Bingen is pleasantly smarmy as an aspiring newspaper reporter who runs into some difficulty at the office. Atwood is delightful in the role of a scrappy young woman trying hard to make ends meet. The central story resonates enjoyably between Bingen and Atwood amidst the mildly frenetic energy of the rest of the cast.

Abigail Stein and Zach Sharrock play a wide array of roles in and around the edges of the action including a Jewish pawn shop owner, a wealthy socialite mother with a Mid-Atlantic accent and an Italian wig shop owner. Regan has everything running with charming precision. Stein and Sharrock do an impressive job of making it all seem slightly chaotic while maintaining a sense of cohesion between everyone in the cast. There’s genuine warmth flowing through the cast in a classy, little space away from the less appealing commercial chaos of bigger Christmas gatherings.

Sunstone Studios’ production of The Gift of the Magi runs through Dec. 23 at 127 E. Wells St. For ticket reservations and more, visit sunstonestudiosmke.com.