Howard L. Craft and Mike Wiley's The Christmas Case of Hezekiah Jones Is a Live, Local, Family-Friendly Holiday-Themed Entertainment
This review was published by Triangle Review on 2 December 2024.
Sunday, Dec. 1st, marked the world premiere of The Christmas Case of Hezekiah Jones, the second play made possible by PlayMakers New Commissions Fund, through which "important new work for the American stage" is written, workshopped, and produced at PlayMakers Repertory Company, with playwrights participating in community and campus events at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
PlayMakers Rep producing artistic director Vivienne Benesh envisioned a play that would celebrate the holidays and Chapel Hill, where UNC and PlayMakers are based. This naturally led to UNC alum Mike Wiley and faculty member Howard L. Craft.
Wiley, who lives in Pittsboro, wrote and performed the one-man play entitled Dar He: The Story of Emmett Till, which was adapted for a 2012 film entitled Dar He: The Lynching of Emmett Till. Craft, who lives in Raleigh, is an instructor for Mike Wiley Productions and the current Piller Professor of the Practice in UNC-Chapel Hill's Writing for the Stage and Screen program. This month's production of The Christmas Case of Hezekiah Jones marks the completion of over two years of work on the project.
In addition to PlayMakers regulars, many of the supporting actors in the play are from Durham's Walltown Children's Theatre, rounding out its influence from across the Triangle.
The result is family-friendly holiday theater that will tickle every Triangle resident who believes in being "good for goodness sake."
The story focuses on Hezekiah Jones, a Chapel Hill toymaker who is losing his joy in Christmas and just about everything else after the recent death of his wife. Hezekiah's daughter Harriet, who is studying at UNC to be an astrophysicist, is worried that her father is going to sell the store, due to rising costs, technology, and declining customers. Dizzle Jollyworth, a North Pole elf who has lost his sense of purpose, has been assigned to revive Hezekiah Jones' Christmas spirit.
Though the plot is not original, The Christmas Case of Hezekiah Jones focuses on the legacy and impact of the African American community in Chapel Hill and is set in the Northside, one of the Town of Chapel Hill's oldest Black neighborhoods. In addition to local history, Hezekiah celebrates Sutton's Drug Store, Time-Out, the Carolina Coffee Shop, Midway Barber Shop, and other small businesses that have become Chapel Hill landmarks. The play also highlights newer independent businesses, such as Epilogue and Vimala's Curryblossom Café, underscoring their importance to the local economy.
Trevor Johnson is rough-around-the-edges lovable as widowed and depressed toy-store owner Hezekiah Jones, whose personality he brings out with Fred-Sanford-like affection. Johnson delivers his geriatrically amusing lines with good will and sincerity that never fail to make the audience chuckle.
Jadah Johnson is less complicated in her portrayal of Hezekiah's ambitious but goodhearted daughter Harriet Jones, who -- though she is stepping back from her duties at the toy store to concentrate on her studies -- is worried that her father is going to close the shop.
Harriet's love interest David, played by Nate John Mark, is charmingly comfortable in his own skin and provides warmth and comical support to both Harriet and Hezekiah throughout the play.
Meanwhile, Reez Bailey's geeky, naive and idealist portrayal of elf-turned-instigator Dizzle Jollyworth is pleasantly reminiscent of Saturday Night Live actor Mikey Day. And it's always a delight to witness 30-year PlayMakers veteran Jeffrey Blair Cornell (who plays elf bartender Fred Fizzle-Moss) in action.
Highlights of the show are Rasool Jahan's jazzy but no-nonsense portrayal of black business-woman elf, Silver Bell Sparkle Dash; and Mengwe Wapimewah's ostentatious and outlandish incarnation of social media influencer Dani (with an i).
There were a lot of actors of a lot of different ages, and the stage was packed (but not overly so) with Christmas cheer, both in the balcony (North Pole) and on the main stage (Chapel Hill). Director Kathryn Hunter-Williams, scenic designer Lawrence E. Moten III, and stage manager Aspen Blake Jackson clearly work well together.
The sound was impeccable, even during hip-hop dance numbers, thanks to sound designer and composer Kate Marvin. And the lighting, designed by Abigail Hoke-Brady, was sometimes mesmerizing, like when the perimeters of the rectangular glass cabinets on the main stage glowed different colors between scenes.
The Christmas Case of Hezekiah Jones provides live, local, holiday-themed entertainment for the cost of a family night at the movies. The venue is beautiful, the set is jovial, the plot and the actors are endearing, and the message -- supporting community -- is one we all need as we look toward Christmas and the beginning of 2025.
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