The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
TOY SOLDIER VISITS
Cleveland icon helps spread Christmas cheer
Some 600 children of all ages got a rare treat this side of downtown Cleveland Dec. 22, thanks to a doctor’s diligence, the Lake County YMCA and some cast members from a perennial Cleveland favorite, The Toy Soldier.
For more than 25 years, the Toy Soldier and friends, in conjunction with Olmsted Performing Arts, have dazzled Tower City Center visitors around the holidays with what’s become a tradition for many Northeast Ohioans.
This year, thanks to the fundraising and organizational efforts of longtime Lake County physician Dr. Robert MacDougall, hundreds of area residents got to see the Toy Soldier, his assistant, the Fairy Godmother, and special guests Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the RedNosed Reindeer during two upclose and personal performances at the Central Y in Painesville.
Lasting about 45 minutes each, performers Rob Hruby (the Toy Soldier), Gina Buck (his assistant and Frosty the Snowman), Cathie Brenkus (the Fairy Godmother) and Buck’s mom, Linda Buck (Rudolph the RedNosed Reindeer), sang and/or danced to various seasonal songs to the sincere delight of those in attendance.
“I think it went great,” said Suzanne Hall, membership engagement director at the Lake County Y, adding that, at one point, one of the event’s sponsors said she shed a tear or a few over how touching the highly interactive performance played out.
Also telling was the spontaneous applause from the audience as the Toy Soldier whisked numerous folks in the crowd off their feet to become his dance partners briefly — from 10-month-old girls to senior adults.
One such girl, 10-monthold Nora Konrad, seemed to delight in everything about the event and appeared right at home in the Toy Soldier’s arms as he twirled her around during one musical number.
“Oh, it was wonderful — just wonderful,” Nora’s grandmother, Mentor resident Barb Konrad said as she, Nora, her 20-monthold granddaughter Rylee Konrad and close friend Leslie Walsh stood in line after the show for a meetand-greet and a photo-op with the performers.
Konrad said she’d never seen The Toy Soldier, even in Cleveland, and hopes to make it a tradition.
“The girls really enjoyed it,” she said. “I’d love to get a new tradition started with the granddaughters and this.”
Hall said she and the Y have no idea whether it will be an annual offering after this year because MacDougall spearheaded the whole thing on his own.
Speaking of MacDougall, he said it was an ailment early in 2017 that inspired him to organize and raise funds for the event.
“I was very ill last January,” he said shortly before the 1 p.m. Toy Soldier show Dec. 22. “And, when I recovered, I thought I’d better do something meaningful before I croak.”
When asked why he picked this particular presentation, he said, “I’ve just always liked The Toy Soldier in downtown Cleveland. It’s just a special way to ring in the season for me, I guess.”
Another older Lake County resident who said she’s always had a special place in her heart for The Toy Soldier and friends got to dance with the show’s namesake, himself and was visibly delighted.
“I just love The Toy Soldier,” Painesville Township resident Kay Sexton, another of The Toy Soldier’s dance partners Dec. 22, said. “And it’s been a family tradition for years now. I used to take my grandkids when they were little. Now they’re all grown up.”
Painesville Township resident Linda Kumler agreed it was a “wonderful” event, adding that she appreciated the intimate nature of the performance at the Y, as opposed to a large shopping and entertainment venue like Tower City.
“Oh, it was wonderful,” she said. “It’s just such a nice, festive, familyfriendly atmosphere. We usually go to Tower City to see it. But this was different — very personal — just a wonderful family occasion.”
Kumler’s daughter, Concord Township resident Laura Gunnoe, who brought her children: 9-year-old Chase and 6-year-old Gabby, agreed with her mom.
“It was a beautiful event,” Gunnoe said. “It was just such a nice, personal, family event — a really nice way to start off Christmas. And it was just another example of all nice things Lake County does for its residents.”
Those who donated to support The Toy Soldier’s performance at the Central Y in Painesville include: Bentley Excavating, Nancy Cruikshank, Albert DiIorio, W.F. Hahn & Sons, Hannon Electric Co., Kindred Transitional Care — LakeMed, Jerry Kovacs, Lake Cardiology, Lake County Family Practice, Lake Orthopaedic Associates Inc., Edward MacDougall, Robert MacDougall, Macy Family Dentistry, Ophthalmic Physicians Inc., Rider’s 1812 Inn, Steele Mansion and Peggy Snowbrick.
“It was a beautiful event. It was just such a nice, personal, family event — a really nice way to start off Christmas. And it was just another example of all nice things Lake County does for its residents.” — Concord Township resident Laura Gunnoe