By Tina Arth
While I love Christmas music, the season can find me
groaning at the prospect of a seemingly endless procession of holiday shows.
However, 2019 has been a happy exception. Of the five post-Thanksgiving shows
I’ll have seen by December 25th, only two are overtly Christmas-themed – and
only one is gifted with a hearty dose of holiday songs. Better yet, the company
offering my lone dose of mangers, Santa Claus, and Bethlehem is Broadway Rose.
Their musical revue, It Happened One
Christmas, offers a carefully curated and unexpectedly diverse selection of
standards and newer material delivered by truly amazing performers. The result
is about 1½ hours of dynamite music, a bit of wraparound plot, and nothing that
sounds even remotely like Christmas muzak – exactly what I wanted!
The production is the result of collaboration between
Managing Director Dan Murphy (also the show’s director) and author/musical
arranger (among his many talents) Rick Lewis.
It’s Christmas Eve, and after all of the shoppers have gone home,
Santa’s Chalet in Grimbles Department Store is empty except for security guard
Walter and cleaner Frances – or so they think. Unknown to the two, a quartet of
exceptionally lively mannequins are singing and dancing their way through the
evening, although they quickly disappear almost every time the humans show up.
Frances and Walter build a lovely friendship as they reminisce about
Christmases past, find comfort in each other’s company and chase away loneliness
in this least likely setting for a holiday dinner.
All of this is, of course, just an excuse for the cast to
sing and dance their way through the evening – and so they do! After an opening
ensemble number, we first meet Walter (Fred Bishop) when, alone on stage, he
launches into a pitch-perfect (and perfectly schmaltzy) “Santa Claus is Coming
to Town.” In the cleverly staged “Real Live Girl” we learn that he, like
“Mannequins” Chad Cramer and Jalena Scott, can also dance – even if one of the
mannequins is actually a mannequin! Scott
and Cramer follow the number with a lovely “Winter Wonderland” and a lively
“Man With the Bag” that amply showcase their remarkable voices.
While the ensemble work is lovely, and the ballads are
moving, it’s the addition of some gentle comic fare that keeps the evening
really alive. Jennifer Goldsmith’s “Frances,” the crusty cleaner with attitude
and a heart of gold, delivers some of the evening’s best light moments, with
her expressive (somewhere between Fanny
Brice and Carol Burnett) face, clear grasp of physical comedy, and a voice that
won’t quit. Another comic standout is “Mannequin” Megan Tudor – her “Never Fall
In Love With An Elf” is a showstopper! Dance Captain Tudor displays another
side when she and partner “Mannequin”
Colin Stephen Kane dance their way through “The Best Things Happen While You’re
Dancing” – the woman is a true musical theater triple threat! Kane gets a
chance to show off his skill as a vocal soloist in “Beneath the Tree,” an
original song by Rick Lewis that fits nicely in the program.
The holiday cheer is amplified by scenic designer Kristeen
Willis’ wonderful set, evocative of the temporarily festive basement of an
old-fashioned department store. Phil McBeth’s lighting design is perfect – depending
on the demands of the moment, the atmosphere changes from a slightly sad “after
the party” air to full-on holiday cheer. Props, as always, to musical
director/pianist/conductor Jeffrey Childs, Bassist Amy Roesler, and drummer
Mitch Wilson – although we never see them, they provide the platform on which
the whole show is built.
Recent Broadway Rose shows have been selling out quickly,
and this one is no exception – there are very few seats available for the
remainder of the show’s run. Get on the website immediately, be very flexible,
and you just might be able to snag a ticket.
It
Happened One Christmas is playing at Broadway Rose’s New Stage, 12850 SW Grant Avenue,
Tigard through Sunday, December 22.
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