We Need A Little Christmas
We Need A Little Christmas
Directed by Wade Hair
Breakthrough Theatre, Winter Park FL</strong>
This show felt a lot like a real Christmas party – the place was packed with kids running in and out, there was a weird uncle with a collection of creepy holiday hats, and no one would touch the fruit cake or the cheese ball. Beyond that, this functional family can really sing, and they mix a selection of holiday standards with several explicitly religious numbers. So often the world seems split between religious hostility and fanaticism, and it’s nice to see someone ignore the whole litmus test mantra and just do the music they enjoy.
With 13 singers on stage, things felt crowded. The cast was split between professional stage veterans and little kids who were better at cuteness than harmony. The ensemble filled the stage for the opening numbers “We Need a Little Christmas” and “It’s the Most Wonderful time of the Year” and then slid into the mandatory maudlin number, the very modern sounding “A Christmas to Remember” which actually made me fight off a weepy feeling. Soon enough we were into a pair of traditional medleys of rock and roll classics “Rocking Round the Christmas Tree” and “Jingle Bell Rock.” While the youngsters did what they do best: sparkle, but the voices that caught my attention were the more experienced. Director Wade Hair has a sweet but powerful tenor, and Davis Garrard has a hyper drive on his voice warble control. The ladies were equally up the task with stirring renditions of “Santa Baby” and “Sisters”. The space is packed, the air-conditioning set on Ice Age 2, but the warmth and energy of this Holiday cabaret will cheer you up, no matter how much joy you still need to exude.
For more information, please visit http://www.breakthroughtheatre.com
