Coal Miners' Christmas

It's almost Christmas in a poor coal mining town in the early 1900s. When a foundling baby girl appears on the doorstep of the company store, Annie, the possessive wife of the proprietor, takes a shine to her. But Arly, who works at the store and makes Christmas presents for all the kids in town, learns that the real mother is Francine. She has kept her pregnancy secret from everyone, even her mean-spirited husband. She loves the baby, but is too poor to raise her and an older daughter. A cave-in at the mine sows tragedy and complicates matters further. Francine, who loses her husband in the disaster, has to leave town, but she desperately wants to hold her baby once more. On Christmas Eve, Arly engineers a pageant at the store with Annie as the Angel and Francine as Mary, holding her baby in the manger, fulfilling her Christmas wish. When Francine hands the baby back, Annie realizes she is the birth mother, and invites her to come and visit the child at any time. A profound, beautiful story. Performance time: 90 minutes.