Sometimes a hokey, predictable and heartwarming story is just what the doctor ordered for a spirit worn out by conflict and controversy – like the spirits of the American people who have just gone through the most obnoxious and absurd recent presidential campaign.

That’s just what Next Act delivers with "unSilent Night," written by Milwaukee’s own John Kishline and Edward Morgan. The play has been in development for months after originally being scheduled for last season.

What the cooperative efforts came up with was a killer cast that kept a play without surprise or tension moving along at a pace so that when the end came, I saw – and participated in – some holiday tears.

The play is set in a 1953 Milwaukee radio studio, designed by Rick Rasmussen to reflect the realities of almost any AM station, even today. A room with a window into the studio is upstage and houses the producer and any guests. The main studio is the province of the on-air personality, in this case Frank Willis (David Cecsarini). The set is remarkable both in its functionality and its evocation of the inside of a radio station. 

It’s Christmas Eve, and Frank is spinning holiday tunes and sharing the microphone with his alter-ego character (a different voice from Frank). His assistant Liz Sherman (Molly Rhode) hovers in the producer’s room, soon joined by Roger Hufnagle (Doug Jarecki), the station manager.

Frank is a bit of a wild card, not always following the strict instructions of his decidedly middle-of-the-road boss. Not all the commercials get run on time, and some of his antics drive Hufnagle up the wall. Liz is frustrated by her place between Frank and Roger, worn out from trying to keep a semblance of peace between the two, and it's not long before she decides to walk out, leaving Frank alone in the studio with his sound effects and records (remember records?).

The first act feels like a continued effort to establish who these characters are and what their relationship is to each other. While each of them has some interesting qualities, it seems to drag a bit once we have become acquainted with each individual. 

The only sense of tension is whether Frank is going to get fired before the New Year, and that hardly seems to be enough to carry us through a second act. We know who they are, where they stand. We've got the setup down cold. Now what?

Fortunately, the mysterious appearance of a slightly menacing black man in a stocking hat and overcoat in the studio when Frank is the only one left, creates some questions that promise some revelations in the second act. The lights come up, sending the audience off to wonder who this stranger may be. 

It turns out the black man is Earl Venable (Andrew Muwonge), an Army sergeant who has served three years in Korea during the war and has returned with battle exhaustion, which today would be called PTSD. He’s come to Milwaukee from Waukegan, Illinois, to seek treatment at the Veterans Administration Hospital.

His life post-war has been just as terrible as you might expect for an unemployed black man following his service. He can’t find work, he’s got voices in his head from two dead  compatriots, he can’t find any help for his demons, it’s storming outside and he doesn’t have a place to stay.

He and Frank begin to talk, and eventually Frank puts him on the air, staging the very first ever call-in show. The concept is so foreign that it is the straw that breaks Roger’s back, and he orders that Frank be fired. 

The theory behind the developments is solid, but it’s in need of some dialogue that sounds more realistic than the platitudes we get. It all seems just a little bit pat, and the characters fall into moderate stereotypes. Frank is sympathetic to Earl and willing to be fired for the nobility of doing his show his way. Earl is downtrodden but still prideful over his service to our country which, he moans, he is not rewarded for.

Liz is the war widow who loves Frank on some silent level and suffers from a lonely life broken up by her decision to visit her in-laws for the holidays. She quits and then comes back after listening to Frank try the call-in gimmick.

Roger, who is in the process of firing Frank, gets a last second call from the station owner who tells him he loves what Frank is doing, thus saving the job. Frank, who has been arguing with his wife by phone, wants to drive get something to eat with Earl before heading to his happy home.

Everything in this show marches predictably toward an ending that wraps up with a splendid a cappella version of "Silent Night" from the marvelous voice of Rhode, and the curtain comes down on an audience full of shivers and warmth.

The virtual capacity crowd at the matinee Saturday loved the performances, and it was obvious that they were moved by the story being told. Just the kind of holiday fluff that is salve for the soul when we have all been stressed almost to the breaking point.

"unSilent Night" runs until Dec. 11 and information on showtimes and tickets can be found here.

Production credits:  Director, Edward Morgan; Scenic Designer, Rick Rasmussen; Lighting Designer, Michael Van Dreser; Costume Designer Dana Brzezinski; Properties Designer; Heidi Salter and Shannon Sloan-Spice; Sound Design, David Cecsarini; Stage Manager, Jessica Connelly.