Review of A Christmas Carol at the Long Beach Playhouse

Hiya!

Recently, my son had to attend a stage play for his high school drama class, and looking around on the internet my wife found that the Long Beach Playhouse was currently running their version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and since it was convenient we picked up some tickets. I was not super enthusiastic about this, but it really worked out well and we all had a great time.

The Long Beach Playhouse has been around since 1929, and during this time they have put on more than 1,000 shows, which is not surprising considering they put on a new show every three weeks. This really is a local treasure, and over 35,000 people. This company has their own facility with two different stages, and A Christmas Carol was performed in their 200-seat Mainstage Theatre.

This is the fourth time that these folks have put on this show, and it is different every time. The basic story is what you will expect it to be, but it has been re-imagined by Gregory Cohen with direction by 'Phie Mura
 and scenic design by Andrew Vonderschmitt. There are only ten actors, so they play multiple roles, and scenery and props are kept to a minimum to the point where the actors are the props and scenery at times (Lisa March did a fantastic job as the fireplace).

But, just because the production has been stripped in some areas this does not mean that the audience is missing out on anything. As this is such a small theatre it is very intimate and the crowd is drawn into the transformation of Ebinezer Scrooge from a miserable old git into a slightly manic do-gooder.

The play moves along quickly, coming in at around 90 minutes with an intermission at the 45 minute mark. All of themes of the original story are kept, and the actors are wonderful. Scrooge was played by Gregory Cohen, and he nailed the essence of the elderly miser. Other standout performance were Leigh Hayes as the Ghost of Christmas Past and Gary Williams as the Ghost of Christmas Present. And who could not love Carmel Artstein’s take on Tiny Tim! The other players did very well too, and there was hardly a flubbed line or missed cue to be found. You would be hard-pressed to find a community theatre that could do better.

The cast crew, music, staging and direction all came together and it was really a terrific show. As I said earlier, I did not really want to go but I ended up having a great time and it put me into the spirit of the holiday season. Long Beach Playhouse’s A Christmas Carol is a wonderful experience that is uniquely staged, and if you are a local I recommend that you get out to see it before it closes on Sunday, December 20.

Mahalo!

Review of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular at the Radio City Music Hall

Aloha!

I have been to New York City many times, and each time I am there I manage to catch at least one show. Though I have walked by the Radio City Music Hall before, I have never attended a show there nor seen the world famous Rockettes. Well, that changed last weekend as I attended one of the first few shows of this year’s Radio City Christmas Spectacular!

This show has been going on since 1933, and the Radio City Music Hall is an amazing place to see it (there is also a touring version of the show). Located in Rockefeller Plaza, the theatre was built in 1933 and it is huge! It holds around 6,000 guests and has one of the biggest pipe organs ever made.

Well, they put that pipe organ to work, and a few minutes before the 8:00 PM start time, two of the consoles slid out of the wall and the organists played a few holiday tunes to warm the crowd up. After that, there was just one crazy thing after another, and the show truly lived up to its “spectacular” name.

What defines the holidays for you?

If it is Santa Claus, you are going to be thrilled. The jolly stereotype played a big part in the show: he sang some songs, showed a god-awful 3D movie (glasses included), helped some kids find the true meaning of Christmas, made a few tame jokes about the smoking hotness of the Rockettes, and he somehow cloned himself into a mob of dancing fat guys.

If you think the holidays are about the virgin birth of Christ, there is a little something for you too. They put on a full-on processional across the desert with camels and donkeys, and the biggest manger scene ever. I’m sure it was pretty accurate to how things really happened.

How about the Nutcracker? They did an abridged version of that too, albeit with all of the characters being represented by giant teddy bears.

If it is Christmas music you like, they did not skimp on that either. There was a full orchestra, and groups of singers throughout. All of these nutty segments were accompanied by the Rockettes, who really do put on quite a show. Supposedly there have 1300 costumes backstage that these 36 amazingly non-diverse dancers go through each evening, and I believe it. That represents a lot of stitching and dry cleaning….

The music and dancing were perfect, and there was even an ice rink with a couple of skaters (not to mention giant snowflake orbs that floated around in the cavernous hall). The singing was amazingly perfect, which kind of makes me wonder if it was all pre-recorded. Hmm.

Anyway, after 90 minutes of this (right around the time I was praying for an intermission), the show was over. It was definitely cool to see once, though I would be hard-pressed to go again as I cannot imagine that it really changes that much each year. If you have not seen the Radio City Christmas Spectacular at least once, I recommend that you give it a shot. They will be playing dozens of shows through the end of the year, with the last one on January 3. Trust me!

Mahalo!

Review of Donny & Marie Christmas in Los Angeles at the Pantages Theatre

Howdy!

When I was putting together our season ticket package for the Pantages Theatre this year, I snickered a little to myself when I saw that Donny and Marie were on the list, but went ahead and checked the box for their show anyway. On the surface of things, it seems like a hokey show, but they are legendary entertainers, and I have never had the opportunity to see them live before. Plus, I love Christmas music!

And it turns out that going to see them was a great choice, as their show was exceedingly amusing (in a good way). For starters, the Pantages is always a great place to see a show. Parking is easy (easy for Hollywood, anyway), and it is a beautifully restored Art Deco theatre. The theatre is laid out well, and there are really not any bad seats in the house. This show drew scads of old people, so getting around was maddeningly slow, but I guess that was ok for the majority of the people that were there. This probably accounts for the two extra speaker arrays they installed for this show, too.

The doors did not open until a few minutes before showtime, so it was hard to get all of those slow-moving old folks seated, making the curtain rise about fifteen minutes late. But from there they got into the groove and did not miss a cue for the rest of the event. Overall, this show appears to be their regular act with a generous dose of Christmas shtick thrown in for the season.

The stage was set up with movable staircases that were re-arranged throughout the show. An enormous Christmas tree and some poinsettia plants were included as a concession to the holidays. A video screen across the back of the stage played a combination of vintage Osmond footage and close-ups of Donny and Marie as they were performing.

They hired a first-rate band for this tour, with keyboards, guitar, bass, drums, percussion and a kick-butt horn section. Extra kudos go out to the uncredited sax player that did the marvelous solo interlude with two of the dancers between set changes. The band was well-miked, but occasionally overwhelmed the singers, which is an unpardonable sin on the part of whoever was running the mixing board. They should remember whose names are on the marquee…

There were also eight dancers for this production (four male and four female), and they were very capable and were graced with slick choreography throughout. They had plenty of costume changes, though they did not have nearly as many outfits or shoes as Marie.

So, everything was set up for this to be a stellar production, and Donny and Marie also did their part to make it happen. They are epic performers, having done countless Broadway and stage shows over the past 40 years. Marie is still the better singer, and her voice seems to have even more range and strength than when she was younger. She is a good dancer, having reached the finals of Dancing with the Stars a few years back. Donny’s voice is still good, and he is the better dancer of the two, which he reminded Marie of many times during the show. He went home with the DTWS trophy, you know.

Donny and Marie both have an incredible stage presence, and they bantered and joked with each other quite a bit. There were a lot of their old favorites thrown in, with lots of neat old footage on the video screen. They even did a “Little Bit Country/Little Bit Rock and Roll” segment for their die-hard fans. And the fans must have been pleased that they came down into the audience a few times, and even brought a couple of fans up on stage. It was a hoot!

All in all it was a fabulous show, and it was well worth the money and the trouble of heading up to Hollywood. Donny and Marie will be doing this show in Salt Lake City for a few weeks, and then are heading over to London at the end of January. When they make it around to your town, whatever show they are doing, I heartily recommend that you go check them out.

Mahalo!