The CD of The Christmas Schooner might make the lyrics on the chorus numbers more intelligible, but nothing matches the scope of Bailiwick Rep's thrilling wintry sea-storm, conjured on the Penrods' cinema-sized vessel by a company whose teamwork serves to define ensemble playing, nor the engaging exuberance of its crew rejoicing in their safe arrival on shore. Since its premiere in 1995, John Reeger and Julie Shannon's epic musical has docked not only along the Lake Michigan coast that gives the play its setting, but even such far-flung harbors as Austin, Texas, where sailing ships are rare and exotic as rickshaws.
On the surface, a tale of an enterprising captain who brings the holiday trees to Chicago in 1882, Reeger's book touches on all the great themes in American literature -- home, family, courage, initiative, sacrifice, nostalgia for the old world, celebration of the new, a boy's coming of age, a man's good works living after him -- while the thrifty fourteen-member cast spans three generations to appeal to audiences of all ages. And Shannon's score includes robust men's choruses, impish mother-son duets, stand-up patriotic anthems, and a haunting maritime hymn as mysterious as the water whose praises it sings. Though the title (chosen in defiance of commercial interests over "Sweetwater") officially makes it a holiday show, The Christmas Schooner is truly a play for all seasons.
