We Need A Little More Christmas (And Other Holidays) This Year
Holiday-themed theater and concerts are unquestionably part of many families’ December celebrations – as much a well-loved ritual as cutting down a Christmas tree, giving spare change to bell-ringers, and eschewing a great aunt’s fruitcake. But there is no wassailing – or any other gathering in person – to be done this season. And while you could easily Netflix and chill on the couch with “Elf,” “Home Alone,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” or “Love, Actually,” it’s not the same as bundling the whole family up for a trip to the theater dressed in holiday finery to see Ebeneezer Scrooge find the spirit of Christmas in his hard old heart once again.
This is a double-humbug for theaters, symphonies, and ballet companies – organizations that usually finance a great part of their annual season through ticket sales to The Nutcracker and the like.
As the song from the musical chestnut Auntie Mame goes “We need a little Christmas, right this very minute.” And fortunately, that’s just what COVID-weary theater audiences have got, as we face the end of the year in the midst of a pandemic-induced “intermission” that began last March.
So in this merry and socially-distanced period between Christmas and New Year’s Day, there’s no harm in bringing a little more holiday cheer into the house via our computer screens. Like Christmas cards from long lost friends, here are some of the holiday shows that arrived in our inboxes this season from area arts organizations. Available until the end of the year and beyond, hopefully these will bring you a little (more) cheer until we can be together once more.
A Christmas Carol: Home for the Holidays
Children’s Theater of Madison
Available online through December 31st
Free
In Madison, CTM has been the standard bearer for decades, bringing A Christmas Carol to life onstage at Overture Center, featuring many community actors and a passel of young performers. Since this immense production in the Capitol Theater could not be staged this year, CTM combined photos of previous productions with the narrated story of Scrooge, featuring almost 100 local actors, young performers, and community leaders. Even Governor Evers and the state’s first lady get into the act. The most magical moments come from actors who have played prominent roles in the past, dusting off their Dickens and recreating treasured moments for us through a snippet of storytelling. Plus, the show is only 30 minutes long, so if you want a quick refresher on the classic tale, this is a good way to get your Christmas Carol fix.
APT's Holidames: Tangled in Tinsel
American Players Theatre
Available online through December 29th
$24
Spend some time caroling and making merry with the divas of American Players Theatre -- Sarah Day, Tracy Michelle Arnold, and Colleen Madden. Dressed in their most festive, gay apparel and flashing smiles to their Zoom cameras like the Rockettes during the Christmas show at Radio City Music Hall, the grand dames of classical theater sing, dance, reminisce, and generally try very hard to bring the holidays into your home. You will not be invited to a cooler holiday party this season, so check it out.
This Wonderful Life
American Players Theatre
Available online through December 29th
$24
In this 80-minute, one man show/ sleigh ride, we are led through the streets of Bedford Falls by the world’s most enthusiastic fan of the holiday classic film, It’s a Wonderful Life. Our narrator Nate Burger doesn’t just know the movie backwards and forwards, he feels it. He revels in it. He actually relives it as he plays all the characters in each scene. As a result, the bare-bones show is a pure delight. It proves once again that a superlative actor can create whole worlds — completely capturing our imaginations with a gesture, a laugh, or a wink — on a bare stage. Kudos to Burger and also to director William Brown for making true holiday magic from the simplest ingredients.
Seasons Greetings from MCT
Milwaukee Chamber Theatre
Available online through January 3
Free
In a frantic search for online content, many theaters have posted interviews with their staff, or actors who frequently grace their stages, with mixed results. Improving significantly on this model, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre has created a thoughtful, seasonal library of personal reflections and performances celebrating the holidays of Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah with artists who are part of the MCT family.
These season’s greetings range from a festive sing-along with Steve Watts; to a short film about coming home to Milwaukee for the holidays by Malkia Stampley and Chike Johnson; to rousing Christmas songs from the African American tradition with The Bronzeville Divas. Learn how to make the traditional Puerto Rican holiday treat pastels with Rana Roman and her brother David, or listen to the Hanukkah story with Elyse Edelman, then get the traditional and the “down and dirty” recipes for latkes. And for Dickens purists, you can even listen to treasured Milwaukee actor James Pickering read A Christmas Carol in its entirety.
The programs last from 15 minutes to 2 ½ hours and of course you can skip around and pause when you need to, or binge watch the whole series. It’s an inclusive collection of stories that touches on a multitude of holiday experiences and neighborhoods in Milwaukee, featuring some of our favorite MCT actors.
Skylight Sings: A Holiday Special
Skylight Music Theatre
Available online through January 10
$20 (or more, if you’re feeling generous)
Ah to be in the Cabot Theatre at Christmas . . .The Skylight’s Holiday Special brings you back in this festive celebration that includes singing, tap dancing, a dog (!) and the legendary Ray Jivoff dressed in a pink bunny onesie, a la “A Christmas Story.” This merry musical evening safely brings together more than 20 performers presenting seasonal favorites, Broadway show tunes, pop adaptations, and a generous dose of comedy.
The cast includes Milwaukee favorites Kelly Doherty, Shawn Holmes, Ray Jivoff, Rána Roman, Samantha Sostarich, and Andrew Varela all doing what they do best: making a joyful noise. With a three-piece band featuring Michael “Ding” Lorenz on percussion, it’s the caroling you’ve missed, presented by a host of amazing performers from past Skylight shows.
Christmastown Comes to First Stage
First Stage
Available online, through January 2nd
Free
First Stage Milwaukee brought Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer™: The Musical to the stage for the first time a few seasons back, to great acclaim. This year, without the opportunity to mount a full holiday production, the company created 30-minute virtual special featuring some of Rudolph’s iconic characters and a lot of hijinks backstage. If you miss dropping your child off at First Stage for Academy classes, or seeing the staff on opening nights, this video is for you. The Misfit Toys, a troupe of elves, and Sam the Snowman invade the First Stage offices to help out with end-of-year tasks and Artistic Director Jeff Frank tries to put his friends from the North Pole to good use. Even the enormous Bumble lends a hand in the prop shop, while the elves work on making a music video. It’s nice to see familiar faces – and characters – while we have to be apart.
Once Upon a Midnight Clear, A Tale of Jack Frost
Reconstructing Grimm
Available online and on YouTube
Free
This may be the biggest, and most welcomed surprise in the locally produced Christmas show genre. Written and directed by the prolific, brave, and always clever Liz Shipe, Once Upon a Midnight Clear is a delightful mash-up of holiday traditions and other winter-themed characters that first premiered at the Brumder Mansion in 2014. Not only does it translate brilliantly to film, this thoroughly charming fractured fairytale was released in weekly short episodes throughout December, so viewers could enjoy them like sugarplums from an advent calendar.
In the original but familiar story, Jack Frost (a completely charming Zach Woods) falls in love with beautiful human Gwen (Alicia Rice), as she dances to the sounds of a music box. He longs to give up his magical métier creating snow and simply live his life with her. Enter Father Christmas (a wonderful James Carrington), Wodan (the grouchy but lovable Sean Duncan), and Krampus (one of many roles that Kelly Doherty inhabits effortlessly) to urge Jack to come back to his frosty mission. Cookies are thrown, wind effects are employed, and magical transformations occur. Kudos to the Reconstructing Grimm company for constructing a perfect figgy pudding of holiday cheer under the constraints of COVID.