I haven’t been very good about talking about this here on my own site, but my novelette THE FIRFLAKE: A CHRISTMAS STORY has been adapted for the stage by Theatre Box of Floral Park, New York and director Kate Lenzo.
Kate and I are old college friends, and when she was looking for a project to work on with her community theater during the ongoing Covid pandemic that has shut down live theater and music venues, she approached me about doing a stage adaptation of The Firflake. It took me all of about 3.5 seconds to say “go for it.” She took a first pass at turning the book into a script and put her cast together. After the first rehearsal (and after the second, and after the third…) we made tweaks to the script (things that read well in your head don’t always translate well to live performance). Then the cast performed on Zoom and Kate recorded and edited, adding opening and closing credits and wonderful music (composed by Frank Sanchez, who really understood the whole “Rankin-Bass claymation special” feel I was going for).
And now, the performance is ready to be viewed by the public!
The Firflake: A Christmas Story is about the legend of the first snowflake of winter and also about how the elves met Santa. It’s also about family, tradition, and the friendships we build that carry us through hard times. It is wonderfully brought to life in this staged reading by a multi-generational cast from across Long Island.
Clicking the below link will take you to Theatre Box’s website. While the production is free, we’re asking for a donation of some kind (seriously, even $1.00!). Full disclosure: donations go to the United Methodist Church of Floral Park, which is the physical home of Theatre Box of Floral Park. Like many live theater, live music, and other gathering-places, UMC of Floral Park has had financial problems thanks to the pandemic. If the church closes permanently, so does the theater. A donation to view The Firflake benefits both the church and the theater, and increases the odds that both will be around when theaters are allowed to reopen. The hope is that in December 2021, we’ll be able to bring you a fully staged production of The Firflake!
In the meantime, we have this filmed reading. Once you make a donation, you will be taken directly to the performance, which is approximately 45 minutes long.
If you’re interested in viewing the Zoom-reading of The Firflake, CLICK THIS LINK.