Stories From Christmas Past

MERRILLVILLE -- It's just before dress rehearsal at Reinhart Auditorium, and the theater's 73-year-old namesake scrambles up a hydraulic lift on the set and measures a window.

He looks small up there, a dozen feet in the air, holding his measuring tape up to the frame of Ebeneezer Scrooge's residence. But few have loomed larger in Lake County's theater community during the past 40 years than Jerauld J. "Jerry" Reinhart, who mounted his first production at Merrillville High School in 1963 and has been putting on plays ever since.

In recent years, though, Reinhart has begun grooming a likely successor -- his 47-year-old son Mike, director and star of a production of the musical "Scrooge," an adaptation of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" that opens tonight. In fact, the amateur cast features a number of family teams, who say that performing together is a bonding experience unlike any other.

Miller Beach blast furnace manager Mike Sangerman plays Bob Cratchit. His son, Max, plays Cratchit's son, Tiny Tim, and daughter Samantha plays Tiny Tim's sister.

"It's good quality time," he said. "Even though all the rehearsals and all the schedules sometimes seem like a lot of work, the shows -- they're just magical. It's like we're all goosebumpy together."

His wife, Pegg, who plays one of the townspeople, said the experience was more interactive than coaching a child's athletic team, for instance.

"You're not sitting there watching them -- you're actually doing it with them," she said.

For the Reinharts, putting on shows together is nothing new. During summers past, Jerry Reinhart often would bring his eight children, Mike included, to the high school gym to help build sets. Jerry continues to direct summer shows, but his son has been directing winter productions since 1992. And although they work closely together at an often frustrating task, the Reinharts say they rarely fight.

"I mean, we butt heads," Mike Reinhart said. "But I never feel like, 'God my show's better than your show.' We put so much into each other's shows."

Family members do more than just act in the Reinharts' productions. One building on the set received a new roof courtesy of Crown Point City Engineer Jeff Ban, better known around these parts as the Ghost of Christmas Future. Ban joined the show after watching his 11-year-old son, Jason, perform.

He was recruited by one of the show's other fathers -- the Rev. Andy Corona of St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, who plays the Ghost of Christmas Present. Corona said he often throws his vestments off in the car to make it to the auditorium in time for curtain call.

"This is really my only recreation -- I work so hard during the day just so I can come here at night," he said. "It's a really family-oriented group. If the shows didn't have such a family nature, I probably wouldn't be a part of them."

Pam Hebert appears in the chorus along with her husband, Bill, who plays Tom Jenkins, and their son Aaron. She said father and son have grown closer since rehearsals began.

"That has to be a major reason we do this," she said. "It does bond a father and a son -- especially a teen. It's hard, because sometimes he'd rather go out with the girls that call all the time. But I just tell him, 'You can't blow off rehearsal. You made this commitment.' "

Not that the actors are eager to skip rehearsal -- there's plenty of work yet to be done. Reinhart stops the rehearsal frequently to tweak the blocking and staging. The children are still perfecting their choreography in the dance sequences. British accents fade in and out like a radio station on a country road.

But by tonight, the actors said they'll be ready. And they're excited for their family members, they said, even if they can't always show it.

"It's just like with 'Music Man,' when Max sang 'Gary, Indiana' -- he played Winthrop," Sangerman said. "I was over with the quartet, and I just -- I wanted to cry. But I knew I couldn't cry because I had to keep character. I had to stay in my part."

FROM 1998

MERRILLVILLE -- If a classic Charles Dickens Christmas is what you're about, with the added plus of music, check out "Scrooge" this weekend (or next) at Merrillville High School's Reinhart Auditorium.

Ross Music Theatre and M&M Productions will present the musical based on "A Christmas Carol."

"We did it in 1996 and last year," director Mike Reinhart said. "It was something we thought we would try and see how it goes this year."

If it draws a good crowd, the musical could become a yearly event.

"It's easy for us to do because it's already put together," Reinhart said.

With the auditorium's heavy use during the Christmas season, that's important.

This year's "Scrooge" cast and crew totals 75, from elementary age to septuagenarians. Reinhart plays Scrooge.

"A lot of people think that's appropriate, even if I'm not playing the part," he chuckled.

Reinhart's famous dad, Jerry, for whom the auditorium was named, will have control over the sets, the chorus, and the vocal work.

"Scrooge" the play is based on the 1970s movie "Scrooge," starring Albert Finney.

"It's the same story line and music," Mike Reinhart said. "It moves very quick.  The whole thing is 1 1/2 hours."

The music is a big attraction, Reinhart said.

"It has a really nice score," he said. "That's one of the things that's appealing about it.  There's a lot of music to remember, like 'I Like Life,' and 'Thank You Very Much.' "

The music and lyrics were written by Leslie Bricuffe, who also did the lyrics for "Jekyll and Hyde." To get the audience in that holiday mood, the Reinharts have employed the use of special effects for "Scrooge," including snow, fog, and floating ghosts.

"We rented a snow machine before," Reinhart said.  "This year, we bought our own. It's actually like a soap, but it looks like snow and evaporates like snow."The show is a family musical that appeals to all ages, too, Reinhart said.  We have kids as young as kindergarten age coming to see it," he said. What: Ross Music Theatre and M&M Productions presents "Scrooge." When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Dec. 5 and 6, and 3 p.m. Dec. 7