A legendary carol gets a rewrite in  Riverwalk Theatre’s “The Five Golden Rings,” which bows on the main stage Saturday.

Set at a 1950s radio station, the original play by Ann
Kettering Sincox is a whimsical illustration of the complicated carol,
with the cast providing the accompanying sound effects and music that
help recreate the broadcasts of the era.

The twist: The entire song is told as a spoof of film-noir whodunits like “The Maltese Falcon.” 

 “It’s very
clever and very chaotic (and) we wanted it to be very fast-paced in
keeping with the flow of the song,” said Mara McGill, who is making her
co-directorial debut alongside 10-year Riverwalk holiday show veteran
Eve Davidson.

Private detective Pete Partridge (Bob Murrell) is
enlisted by a couple known as the Turtledoves to find the missing
titular treasures.

Along the way, the audience encounters all the familiar
faces from the song from the “Six Geese-a-Laying” — re-imagined here as
the bricklaying Geese Brothers — and a group of plumbers a la the
“pipers piping.”

‘The Five Golden Rings: A Christmas Radio Show Whodunit’

Riverwalk Theatre

228 Museum Drive, Lansing

8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10; 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11

$15 adults; $7 children under 16

(517) 482-5700

www.riverwalktheatre.com