Austinist Theatre Review: Moneygo on 34th Street

Ah, the holiday season. That joyful celebration of generosity, kindness, and all that’s good in the human spirit–so often lovingly dramatized by playwrights, filmmakers, and career-minded popstars trying to fund their cocaine habits make a comeback. These simple pleasures are unfortunately absent from the Violet Crown Radio Player’s production of Moneygo on 34th Street–a half-hearted adaptation of the Christmas classic, Miracle on 34th Street.

The show’s main conceit is that you’re watching a group of radio actors who got a little too drunk at the holiday Christmas party, thinking that their pre-recorded production of Miracle on 34th Street is in the bag. But when the record breaks, the inebriated thespians are forced to try and sober up while re-creating their performances live. To make matters worse, the owner of Moneygo, the show’s sponsor, shows up demanding last minute changes and chattering nonsense like an infantile buffoon.

To be fair, when they stuck to the original 34th Street script, VCRP was none-too-shabby. The actors were solid, they had nice voices, and we imagined their show working well on the radio. Plus, it’s hard to hate on such a heartwarming piece of Christmas fiction.

But, whenever the company moved away from the mics and tried some honest-to-goodness theatre “acting,” the show was mercilessly slow. The flat, predictable context that VCRP chose to surround an otherwise timeless story (and the performers’ inability to do anything interesting within said context), brought the production down considerably.

If you really,really like staged radio plays on a Christmas theme, then this is your show. For everyone else, you’d be better off watching the original.

Moneygo on 34th Street
Fridays and Saturdays through December 23rd
Hideout Theatre [6th and Congress]
8pm
[Tickets]