...David Birney's adaptation is an evening of song, poetry and stories that celebrate the spiritual dimensions of the season...from a diverse array of classic and modern texts, punctuated with musical interludes...

...Tone ranges from lighthearted whimsy to solemn reflection. A wryly delivered 1873 "Letter From Santa Claus" written by Mark Twain to his daughter confirms delivery of requested gifts except for "one or two small orders which I could not fill because we ran out of stock." Another humorous segment features George Bernard Shaw's typically acerbic dismissal of the season as "An Atrocious Institution."...

Softer sentiments prevail in O.Henry's "Gift of the Magi," poems by Emily Dickinson and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Contemporary voices include meditations by screenwriter A.J. Carothers, as well as Birney and his daughter, Mollie.

...And of course,... excerpts from Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."...

This is definitely a Christmas - as opposed to a holiday - show, one that wears its theology proudly on its sleeve. Nevertheless, its openhearted sentiments send a message that's reassuringly inclusive.

--Philip Brandes
Los Angeles Times
Dec 12, 2008