Mrs. Santa Claus

Mrs. Santa Claus is a 1996 American made-for-television musical fantasy comedy film directed by Terry Hughes, with a score by Jerry Herman, starring Angela Lansbury in the title role. First broadcast as a Hallmark Entertainment presentation on CBS on December 8, 1996, the film was billed as the first original musical written for television since Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella in 1957. Plot Anna Claus has Santa's workshop running so efficiently in December 1910, the team has completed all the toys and presents a week ahead of schedule ("Seven Days 'Til Christmas"). Mrs. Claus attempts to offer her husband Nicholas a new, more efficient, route around the world, but he is preoccupied by the deluge of mail as Christmas approaches. Feeling ready for a change in her life, Anna decides to assert her independence by testing the route herself, flying the reindeer sleigh for an impromptu journey ("Mrs. Santa Claus"). A sudden storm forces her to make an emergency landing near the Statue of Liberty. She befriends the stable lad Marcello, who determines Cupid's injury will require a week of rest and recovery. Marcello offers to take "Mrs. North" to the best boarding house in the city; along the way he indicates the marvelous melting pot nature of his neighborhood, and Mrs. North enjoys the sights and sounds of a burgeoning and bustling New York City ("Avenue A").