Howard L. Craft and Mike Wiley’s The Christmas Case of Hezekiah Jones is an original play set in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, during the holiday season. The story centers on Hezekiah Jones, a Chapel Hill toymaker who is struggling to find joy in Christmas following the recent loss of his wife. Hezekiah and his daughter, Harriet, worry about their shop’s future as they face rising costs and a decline in customers.
At the same time, in the North Pole, Dizzle Jollyworth struggles to find a purpose as a North Pole elf. To help him find his way, he’s given an assignment: to bring Christmas cheer to Hezekiah Jones.
Spanning from the North Pole to Chapel Hill, this play explores themes of grief, resilience, love, and community.
“It’s a story that doesn’t pretend everything is all right, that life is hard and losses are real and there’s a lot to get through, but at the end of the day, this does celebrate our capacity to help each other to realize it’s gonna be okay.” – Vivienne Benesch, Producing Artistic Director
While there are serious themes and occasionally mature language, audiences can also expect plenty of humor, heartwarming moments, and holiday whimsy.
- Language: Contains occasional adult language, including “Sh*t,” “A*s,” and “H*ll.”
- Themes: Grief is addressed and handled with care. Hezekiah openly discusses the sadness he feels about losing his wife to his daughter Harriet. Later, a mother and her child, Topher, also reflect on their grief after the loss of the family’s father.
- Violence: There is no violence on stage. There is a joke referencing a parent spanking a child.
- Romance: Harriet, Hezekiah’s college-age daughter, shares a few tender moments with her friend David. Hezekiah makes a few disgruntled comments about David’s apparent crush. At the North Pole, elves Silver Bell and Ginger Nuts share romantic moments, including a kiss or two, with some mild innuendo around elves getting “frisky.”
- Religion: There is no explicit mention of religion in this play.
