Wise man prepares to roam Hansville for holidays

Published 11:00 am Saturday, December 9, 2006

HANSVILLE — Members of the Hansville Community Church are hoping one little boy will restore the spirit of Christmas in the midst of massive consumerism and corporate America.

The church is working to spread the true meaning of the holiday season to North End residents through the play “When the Wise Man Comes.”

“They’ve never been able to support a play before,” said promotional manager Bev Beasley. “There’s never been enough folks or interest. But this year was different.”

The play was discovered by director Jim Wise in the form of a short story by William Ashley Anderson. He was struck by the story, which was published in a newspaper in 1942 and decided to adapt it for the stage.

“I found it in an anthology,” he said. “I had worked at Christ Memorial doing productions, which are fairly big. Hansville is much smaller, and I thought this would be the perfect little play for the church in Hansville.”

The story centers around a family in the 1940s. The father is trying to get his son into a production of “The Christmas Story,” in which the son is one of the wise men. But the weather and the family car cause problems, and the play can’t begin without the third wise man.

While the father is trying to get the car started, the son decides walk to the community church, where the play is being held. As he walks, people who are in the throes of Christmas stress look out their windows and see one of the wise men moving through their town. This sight rekindles hope and the true Christmas spirit in the townspeople.

“It’s about renewed hope,” Beasley said. “The sarcasm of the holidays is lessened through this little boy. You realize you can personally connect to the story, and just sit back and take a deep breath. You realize there is a reason for the season.”

The play didn’t originally include a Christmas story, Wise added that while adapting the tale, but he said he feels it will be well received in Hansville. The production will be accompanied by caroling and a candlelight service.

“This is something that will appeal to the general public,” Wise said. “We’re taking a chance running it for four nights, but the community church only seats about 100. And we wanted to give as many people as possible a chance to come see it.”