“When is it going to start? I’m really, really, really, excited!” This was the third or fourth exclamation from the young one sitting just behind me. In such close proximity, it was easy to eavesdrop since she had arrived with her father and grandmother before curtain time.
“Right now, Madeline and the other actors are behind that curtain, getting ready, just a few minutes more,” was the patient grandparent’s calm response.
The tyke croaked out once again, “I am so excited for it to start!”
Sitting among an audience of parents and grandparents with their six-, seven-, and eight-year-old charges took this reviewer back many years to when he introduced his own children to live theater. So, this review is about the Creative Cauldron Stage production of Madeline’s Christmas. But it’s also about the experience of at least one youngster who was perhaps experiencing live theater for the first time.
“In an old house in Paris, covered in vines, lived 12 little girls in two straight lines,” goes the famous opening line of Ludwig Bemelmans’ charming story about the intrepid Madeline and other French orphans. The childhood story is now a charming, whimsical production called Madeline’s Christmas, with book and lyrics by Jennifer Kirkeby and music by Shirley Mier, playing through December 21.
Writer and illustrator Bemelmans penned his first Madeline story in 1939. The Madeline books rank among the most-honored children’s book series of all time. Madeline was named a Caldecott Honor Book, and the first of its five sequels, Madeline’s Rescue, won the Caldecott Medal and was a New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year. Bemelmans died in 1962, after completing Madeline’s Christmas.”
The musical adaptation of the Christmas tale was commissioned by and premiered in 2004 at Stages Theatre Company in Minnesota. Creative Cauldron now brings it to life at their shiny new digs on East Broad Street in Falls Church. Director Matt Conner and his collaborators have crafted a creative production, highlighted by his young cast and the adults who provide expert support.
“What are they doing now, Grandma?” the eager child asked once again.
Grandma’s answer was quick: “Oh, probably one of the actresses lost one of her shoes, and they are desperate to find it before the show starts.”
“I hope they find it. I want it to start so bad!”
“Minutes from now, I am sure.”
When the lights came up onstage, twelve little girls in their red coats and boater hats had formed two lines; at the end of one line was one girl with a yellow scarf: Madeline, in this performance played by fifth grader Joie Howard, who proved to be effortlessly commanding in the title role. With the lion’s share of the lines and scenes, Howard made the role seem like it was written for her, with the stage presence of someone beyond her years.
Howard’s Madeline was ably supported by the eleven other girls, each one displaying distinct personality traits. Even though they were not listed with character names in the program, the roll call of Madeline’s friends was all accounted for: Simone, Juliette, Kate, Dominique, Anne, Amy, Daphne, Isabelle, Camille (obsessed with ice cream), Regine, and Mary.
The wise and caring teacher and mentor to the girls, Miss Clavel, is played with quiet authority and gentle charm by Shana Kuhn. Her scenes with Howard’s Madeline are tinged with love from start to finish.
The show kicks off with Miss Clavel and her brood heading out on an outing to the “Parc Zoologique” (aka the Paris Zoo), where they enjoy a brisk afternoon and Madeline confronts an escaped tiger to the wonder of her classmates. This first adventure folds into the opening musical number, “Madeline.”
As the first musical number finished to quiet applause, the child sitting behind me asked her grandmother, “Is it over now?” Grandma urged her to keep watching and listening.
The story continues as the girls return to the old house for a lesson with Monsieur Brun, played by Josh Carias. During the lesson, nearly all the girls begin sneezing, along with Miss Clavel. Oh, no! They all caught the flu, except for Madeline, the only one who remembered to wear her scarf to the zoo. What follows is a series of adventures with the fearless Madeline taking care of Miss Clavel and her friends, coming across a rug merchant who also happens to be a magician, and a magical journey across the Paris sky.
Carias also plays Harsha, the magician and rug merchant, adding an air of mystery and wonder to the production number “Abracadabra,” punctuated by kaleidoscopic projections and lighting by Nicholas Goodman, Maddy Aykens, Margie Jervis, and Fern Middleton.
When it is time for the girls to all take flight back to their homes, a hallmark of Creative Cauldron’s productions takes the stage — puppetry, courtesy of the inventive creator Margie Jervis. So as not to spoil the delightful surprise, suffice it to say the youngsters and adults in the theater all reacted with the same “oohs” and “ahhs” during this magical moment.
With its puppets, accessible score and lyrics, winning performances, and delightful story, Madeline’s Christmas was a perfect introduction for any child to the wonders of live performance. And one that can entertain adults, as well.
How did our enthusiastic tyke handle the end of Madeline’s Christmas? Her grandmother asked the child, as the closing applause died down, what she thought. “It was too short, Grandma. I want to see it again!”
Running Time: 65 minutes, with no intermission.
Madeline’s Christmas plays through December 21, 2025, presented by Creative Cauldron Stage, at 27 E Broad St, Falls Church, VA 22046. Performances are on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Purchase tickets online. Ticket prices range from $18 for students to $30 for adults, with group discounts available. Creative Cauldron is also always looking for volunteers who can earn free tickets; click here for more information.
Madeline’s Christmas
Presented by Creative Cauldron Stage’s Learning Theater
Based on the book by Ludwig Bemelmans
Book and Lyrics by Jennifer Kirkeby
Music by Shirley Mier
Directed by Matt Conner
Music Direction by Bharati Soman
CREATIVE TEAM
Puppet/Costume/Prop/Set designer: Margie Jervis
Lighting Designer: Fern Middleton
Projection Design/Stage Manager: Nicholas Goodman
Projection Painting: Maddy Aykens, Margie Jervis
CAST
Madeline: Joie Howard
Miss Clavel: Shana Kuhn
Brun/Harsha: Josh Carias
Mrs. Murphy/Miss Clavel US: Anna Philips Brown
Little Girls/Magician’s Assistants/Carollers: Lucy Cooper, Hana O’Sullivan, Julia Kieffer, Natalie Kieffer, Tosca Inglis, Frankie Eckenrode, Ophelia Yerkes, Ely Tarrant, Chiara Cryan, Isabel Madrid, Emma Lynch, Blanche Wong, Olivia Fegler, Penny Soulen, Tatiana Lund.
Mrs. Murphy U/S: Laura Connors Hull
Brun/Harsha U/S: Christian Bustillos
