First Stage Celebrates The 60th Anniversary Of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER™: THE MUSICAL

By Mary Boyle

Being born in 1974, I grew up watching the series of stop motion animated television specials by Rankin/Bass Productions from the 1960's, which included Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, The Little Drummer Boy and, of course, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, along with the traditionally animated Frosty the Snowman.  When I had children of my own, I made sure these shows became a part of their Christmas tradition, too.  Back in 2012, First Stage brought a part of my childhood to life with the World Premiere of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER: THE MUSICAL and now its back for the 2024 season to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the longest-running holiday TV special of all time!

Even if you haven’t seen the original television special, the music of Rudolph went on to become a mainstay of the Christmas music repertoire in our country.  I had always thought the song about Rudolph came from the cartoon, but in fact it was the opposite: the original animated television special was based on the song, which was written in 1949 by Johnny Marks (based on the poem written by his brother-in-law Robert L. May in 1939), who also wrote the other music for the special, as well as music and lyrics for a number of other Christmas classics.  The great Burl Ives, who was the voice of Sam the Snowman (a character made for him and based on him), became an icon of the Christmas Music catalogue because of the television special, with songs such as “Silver and Gold,” “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas,” and his version of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”  And, if you know the song about Rudolph, then you already know most of the story about this most famous of reindeer; however, the animated special filled in a few more details.

​Narrated by Sam the Snowman (James Carrington), Rudolph (double cast as Gwen Madson or Sylvia Stoeger), as we all know, was born with a bright and glowing red nose, to the dismay of his father, who is none other than Donner (Tim Rebers), one of Santa’s original sleigh team.  As Rudolph grows, his father tries to help him by covering up his “nonconformity” but, in the end, Rudolph is found out and ostracized by Santa (David Flores) and his reindeer community, except for his mother (Jamie Mercado) and Clarice (double cast as Kara DeGroot or Amelia Sajdak), a doe who thinks his red nose is cute.  Unfortunately, her father, Commet (Zach Woods), doesn’t want his doe hanging out with a red-nosed reindeer.  Meanwhile, in Christmastown, an elf named Hermey (double cast as Penny Whitmore or Maryn Davis), who would much rather be a dentist than be an elf, is threatened with being fired by the Boss Elf (J.T. Backes) if he doesn’t get back to work making toys.  These two misfits meet and decide to run away together, despite the danger of the Abominable Snowman of the North (Timothy J. Linn).  On their journey, they meet Yukon Cornelius (Zach Wood), a miner searching for silver and gold, and stumble upon the Island of Misfit Toys.  A timeless story about acceptance that is needed more than ever, Rudolph continues to delight generations of children. 

The amazing thing about the First Stage production, which is being produced for the 5th time since its World Premier, is how true it is to the television version.  The incredible scenic, puppet and costume design by Brandon Kirkham is truly as if the special was brought to life, but then the cast takes it a step further.  Most of the actors sound remarkably like the original voice actors (who, incidentally, were all Canadian, except for Ives).  Zach Woods is great as Coach Comet and Yukon Cornelius, David Flores and Karen Estrada reprise their roles from the 2022 production as Mr. & Mrs. Claus, James Carrington, who was Donner in 2022, brings his endearing energy as Sam the Snowman, but my personal favorite is still J.T. Backes, who returns as the Boss Elf and Charlie in the Box – it’s like listening to the original!  The Young Performers are double cast; I saw the Silver Cast and Penny Whitmore, Gwen Madson, and Kara DeGroot did a phenomenal job as Hermey, Rudolph, and Clarice, respectively.  

Directed by Jeff Frank, with music direction by Tim Rebers and choreography by Ami Majeskie, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER: THE MUSICAL is the perfect holiday show for young children and their families.  Tickets may be purchased at firststage.org or through the Marcus Center Box Office, in person at 929 N. Water Street in downtown Milwaukee or by phone (414) 273-7206 or toll free at (888) 612-3500. The number for TDD (for deaf and hard of hearing patrons) is (414) 273-3080.  The show runs approximately 75 minutes, including a brief intermission. Recommended for families with young people ages 3-12 and theater lovers of all ages. The Pay What You Choose Performance is Friday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m., and the Sign Language Interpreted Performance is Sunday, Dec. 22, at 3:30 p.m.

Don’t miss out on the rest of the season productions coming soon! Find tickets and additional information at www.firststage.org/2024-2025-Season.

● Dec. 6 - 25 THE TEMPEST
● Jan. 18 - Feb. 16 THE DINOSAUR PLAY
● Jan. 31 - Feb. 16 EMILY SONG AND THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT
● March 8 - April 6 DISNEY & PIXAR’S FINDING NEMO
● March 28 - April 13 RIDE THE CYCLONE: HIGH SCHOOL EDITION
● May 2 - 18 ESPERANZA RISING

For additional information about the 2024-2025 season and to order tickets, please go to firststage.org or call (414) 267-2961.

About First Stage
Founded in 1987, First Stage is one of the nation’s leading theaters for young people and families, and a driving force behind the creation of the best and most innovative plays for family audiences, theater training programs for young people, and education initiatives for its schools and community. First Stage ensures that all programming is not only accessible to its community but that it is reflective of the community it serves.  First Stage produces plays that honor the young person’s point of view, include diverse and traditionally underrepresented voices, and inspire meaningful conversations. First Stage has presented more than 70 world premiere productions that address important subject matters relevant to today’s youth. The Theater Academy is one of the nation’s largest high-impact theater training programs for young people (3-18 years old). Through a challenging curriculum taught by professional teaching artists, the Academy nurtures life skills through stage skills and includes the Next Steps Program that tailors Theater Academy classes to the needs of young people on the autism spectrum and with other developmental disabilities. As Wisconsin’s leader in arts-integrated education in schools, First Stage’s dynamic Theater in Education Programs cleverly blend theater activities with standard curriculum—allowing more than 10,000 students annually to learn traditional academic subjects through creativity and self expression.

First Stage is a member of TYA/USA, the American Alliance for Theatre and Education, the Wisconsin Alliance for Arts Education, Milwaukee Arts Partners and is a cornerstone member of the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF). For more information, visit firststage.org.