MRS. CONEY and THE CHRISTMAS SCHOONER, Bailiwick Repertory. These two well-crafted plays, running in rotation, should satisfy audiences seeking fresh yet traditional Christmas entertainment. Mrs. Coney, a premiere written and directed by Belinda Bremner, is a sly, slight story-theater tale of Christmas mountain magic. James, the middle-aged narrator, reminisces about how as a boy in Depression-era Kentucky he freed a rabbit caught in a trap, then came across Mrs. Coney, an ancient hermit also disabled by a leg wound. Her bitter loneliness inspires Jamie to give up his own Christmas in order to give her one, spending his time and money to cook, clean, and care for the bedridden woman and her retinue of animal friends. Jamie’s rewards–as bountiful as their explanation is fanciful–illustrate the joy of helping others and discovering the wonder in ordinary things.
