‘A Very Northville Christmas’ Brings the Holiday Cheer at Tipping Point Theatre
There’s something about the holiday season that heightens the importance of tradition in families. Whether it be baking Christmas cookies by the dozens or decking the halls with too much tinsel, there’s something special that every family does that makes the season that much more cheerful and bright. For my family, it’s watching more rom-com holiday movies than we can count. That’s right, we’re a Hallmark family who can’t seem to get enough of those cheesy films with the same played-out story. Big city gal returns home to a small town and rediscovers herself, finding love along the way. There’s something so comforting about these films that you can’t help but consume them as much as possible. Tipping Point Theatre’s current production, A Very Northville Christmas, uses these Hallmark films as a blueprint, bringing a hilarious show that both pays homage to the tropes while also poking a healthy amount of fun at them.
A Very Northville Christmas triggers a healthy amount of nostalgia, as it brings back so many incredible memories of gathering together as a family with large cups of cocoa and that night’s Hallmark film. This feeling of nostalgia and tradition isn’t unique to me, and artistic director Julia Glander recognized it when she chose to bring this play back to Tipping Point Theatre’s stage. Dave Davies returns to this local Northville theatre, this time in the director’s chair, using his improvisation and comedic skills to highlight what makes A Very Northville Christmas so important.
While keeping Robert Hawlmark’s book intact, this production transports audiences into the heart of Northville at Christmas time, capturing that small-town charm and making the story feel even more real. A Very Northville Christmas is for those who both love and loathe Hallmark holiday movies, making it the perfect escape to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year.
[Warning: Spoilers from Tipping Point Theatre’s A Very Northville Christmas are below!]
A big city girl returns to Nortville in this Tipping Point production
Felice (Meghan Van Arsdalen) is a hard-working big city girl who is just trying to make a name for herself. Looking to impress her boss, Mr. Plasteur (Chris Korte), she’d do about anything to get a job done, including returning to her hometown of Northville on Christmas. She’s tasked with sealing the deal on a local property that Mr. Plasteur is bent on getting and flipping for profit. However, Felice is also returning with a broken heart, as her boyfriend, Jack (also played by Chris Korte), doesn’t understand her desire to climb the corporate ladder.
As someone who hates the holiday season, Felice finds it traumatic to return to Northville, which is literally a living and breathing Christmas card; however, she plans to make the best of it. Perhaps she can visit with her mother (Melissa Beckwith) and also walk away with the biggest business deal of her life. What she doesn’t account for is running into her high school crush, George (Jonathan West), who has more jobs than can fit on a business card.
As her frosty heart begins to melt, will she be pulled back into the folds of the small town charm? Or will she throw away the chance of love and life in Northville to keep her life in the big city? It’s a classic tale that we’ve seen play out more times than we can possibly count, but still, it’s not the end that’s important, but the journey to get there that makes A Very Northville Christmas so enjoyable. However, that being said, if you want to know where that cozy story ends, you’ll have to visit Tipping Point Theatre to find out!
A tried-and-true formula allows for hilarity in A Very Northville Christmas
The genius of A Very Northville Christmas is that it doesn’t pretend to be anything that it isn’t, which is where the play truly shines. From the get-go, the cast and creatives haven’t made it seem like this show isn’t, at its core, a cheesy Christmas flick that we’ve seen over and over again. In fact, even when I spoke to both the artistic director, Julia Glander, and the director of A Very Northville Christmas, Dave Davies, they both highlighted this exact fact. A Very Northville Christmas is exactly what you’d expect, so even pretending that it’s not would do this show a disservice.
Instead, Tipping Point Theatre leans into it, heightening this fact at every chance. That’s truly the charm of a show such as this, utilizing the Hallmark formula to its advantage while also making fun of how silly it is. A Very Northville Christmas is incredibly meta, with the characters also aware of the ridiculousness of what’s happening, bringing the audience deeper into the story and the comedy.
The story itself is so basic that it allows audiences to sit back and just completely relax into the show. A Very Northville Christmas is the equivalent of a popcorn flick, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. The structure isn’t so complicated or convoluted that you can’t just passively engage and enjoy what’s happening in front of you. That’s the charm of Hallmark movies that carries over into the play: you could leave the room for any extended period of time, and as soon as you pick it back up, you know exactly where the story is.
Because of this simplistic holiday movie formula, the actors on stage truly get to engage in some of the funniest bits I’ve seen on stage recently. All four cast members look like they are having the time of their lives while also trying to stay in character, because it’s that kind of show. Hawlmark was written moments for each of the actors to shine, which speaks to the genius of the show. Meghan Van Arsdalen’s ability to keep a straight face as the serious girl from the big city had me tearing up from laughing so hard. While Christmas chaos unfolds around her, Arsdalen maintains the dreamy naivety that is essential to any Hallmark-esque story and a testament to her talent.
The hilarity from Melissa Beckwith and Chris Korte’s roles comes from juggling multiple characters. Much like in so many rom-com films, there are a plethora of side characters who are essential to moving the story forward but whose faces and names are all forgettable. Hawlmark took all these characters and created a role that naturally imbues them with hilarity. The constant switching between costumes and characters, and the winks that come with that type of humor, elevate the show and imbue A Very Northville Christmas with even more meta-ness.
However, the highlight of this production for me was Jonathan West as George. Like most films this show is based on, the romantic love interest is both the most developed and the most ambiguous person possible. George could be anyone, because he is everyone, if that makes sense. The humor comes from the fact that the role is every single trope you could ever imagine, which could be a difficult task; however, West does so with such charm and charisma. You can’t help but laugh at every one of his jokes, and somehow fall in love with his character with relative ease.
Tipping Point has captured the holiday charm once again!
A Very Northville Christmas gives audiences something that is desperately needed at this time: a moment to laugh. This play both pays homage to cheesy Christmas films and lets people chuckle at how silly it all is. Nothing is more unifying than coming together for a holiday show, especially one that captures the spirit of the season.
A Very Northville Christmas runs through December 21, so get your tickets now from Tipping Point Theatre! Are you making a trip to Northville to see this play? Let us know @BoxSeatBabes on all social media platforms!
