‘Miracle on Easy Street’ Will Be Televised This Year

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Not even a pandemic can stop this miracle from happening.

For the first time, Easy Street Productions will present “Miracle on Easy Street,” its annual holiday revue, on television. The show will air four times in the holiday season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, twice each on WFMJ-TV and WBCB-TV. The dates have not yet been set.

The one-hour televised show will include recorded segments from past performances of the glitzy and spirited show, interspersed with new interviews of current and past performers and behind-the-scenes footage.

Making “Miracle” into a one-hour television special will be no easy task, says Todd Hancock, who owns and operates Easy Street with Maureen Collins. 

The musical normally clocks in at two hours when presented on stage. 

“With the current restrictions [on social distancing], Easy Street can’t safely hold rehearsals for the cast of over 100 singers, dancers, musicians and ‘little rascals’ [the youngest members of the troupe],” Hancock says.

Instead, Easy Street plans on making the holiday special more of a retrospective, featuring footage from past performances mixed with interviews and songs presented in a teleconference-style format. 

“We have 10 years of footage” to go through, Hancock says. The TV special will be about 30% past performances and 70% new material. The show will include interviews and performances with Easy Street regulars as well as  “Miracle” alumni who have moved on to professional theater.

It will also include some holiday selections featuring participants in Collins’ online musical workshops.

“Miracle on Easy Street” is a Youngstown tradition that began over 30 years ago. Known as a beacon of holiday cheer, the fast-paced show mixes dance, comedy and singing, cloaked in colorful costumes and backed by a professional musical ensemble.

“Miracle” is performed four times each year at 2,300-seat Powers Auditorium, but state regulations limiting capacity of indoor venues to 15% mean it cannot be staged this year.

The cancelation of the live show means that Hancock will have to wait another year to return to it. He missed last year’s performances after receiving emergency heart surgery.

Easy Street is seeking local businesses and patrons of the arts who want to sponsor or purchase commercial air time for the “Miracle on Easy Street” television special. For information, email [email protected].

Pictured: Todd Hancock, center, is flanked by two dancing reindeer in a scene from a past “Miracle on Easy Street” (Image: Easy Street Productions)

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.