Set in Washington, D.C., on Christmas Eve 1864, “A Civil War Christmas” weaves together several stories of people trying to survive in a nation wracked with the devastation of war. As people try to grasp the reality of this major transition, they struggle to hold on to traditions and values.
“A Civil War Christmas” feels more like an overly wrought thousand-page treatise on the war than the joyous holiday celebration it purports to be. Plodding through it does have its merits, but most of the time it feels more like work than entertainment.
It’s not that the Huntington Theatre Company turns in a bad production. In fact, local favorite Jacqui Parker delivers an astonishing performance as Miss Keckley, the White House seamstress whose family has been ravaged by both war and slavery. Parker’s stirring rendition of “There is a Balm in Gilead” is arguably the show’s finest moment.
A.R.T. mainstay Karen MacDonald also lights up the big stage as Mary Todd Lincoln, the first lady who’s forced to face her own demons in spite of her need to find the perfect Christmas tree.
Meanwhile, Ken Cheeseman doesn’t fare quite as well with his limp portrayal of Abraham Lincoln.
Cheeseman is far too “Father Knows Best” as the president who, on his best days, was said to be most irascible.
Playwright Paula Vogel seems to be shooting for an epic in this overly wrought effort, but there are so many subplots coexisting on this stage that even a Civil War historian could get bored and confused.
‘A Civil War Christmas’
Through Dec. 13
Huntington Theatre
264 Huntington Ave., Boston
Green line to Symphony
$20-$83, 617-266-0800
www.huntingtontheatre.org