sentences:  Many of these productions have honored Vogel's assertion that the play, while partly about Christmas, is not meant as a seasonal "Christmas play" (unlike, for example, adaptations of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol").Therefore, like the world and New York City premieres, many productions are presented during what Vogel terms "the before and aftermath" of the holiday season (e.g., October, January).While the characters of the mother, father, and children (in adulthood) are portrayed by human performers, the children (in youth) are portrayed by puppeteers and initially voiced by narrators.