The year is almost over. It’s finally time to snuggle up against the cold and hygge with family and friends, as Oaken sings in Disney’s Frozen. This month’s column has gifts for everyone, from A Christmas Carol for Jews to a circus-opera featuring a duke and a jester. Sit back, relax and read on for our curated selection.
On Right Now
Disney’s Frozen, Olney Theatre Center
Showing through Jan 5
www.olneytheatre.org
If you’re looking for something festive, fun and family friendly this December, take the kids to see the very first licensed, regionally produced musical version of Disney’s Frozen, directed by Sesame Street’s Alan Muraoka at the Olney Theatre Center in Sandy Spring, MD. Loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, this popular fable explores themes of family, identity, loyalty, love and – of course – magic.
The secret sauce of this production is undoubtedly the intimacy of Olney Theatre Center’s stage space. The action is right on top of you. We attended on a weekend, so the audience was filled with little Elsa and Anna lookalikes resplendent in sparkling gowns, spellbound by a cast that clearly reveled in their roles. Ruth Eloise Benson and Aliza Cohen (as a young Elsa and Anna) and Gabriela Hernandez and Alex De Bard (as their older counterparts) do a stellar job of conveying the intimate, irrevocable bond that sisters share, and ultimately – as Olney’s Artistic Director Jason Loewith reminds us – Disney’s Frozen is all about the power of sisterhood. Additional kudos go to Kennedy Kanagawa and Alex Mills, who conjure Olaf the Snowman and Sven the reindeer to life before our very eyes.
You’re never too old for magic, and what can be more bewitching than seeing the world through the eyes of a child again? So, head to Olney Theatre Center and immerse yourself in the icy world of Disney’s Frozen while comfortably ensconced in your cozy seat with something warm to drink.
In the Spotlight
A Hanukkah Carol, or
GELT TRIP! The Musical,
Round House TheatreShowing Nov 20 – Dec 29
www.roundhousetheatre.org
Helen Hayes Award nominated playwright, actor and puppeteer Harrison Bryan first made the news in December 1997, when the New York Post published their letter lamenting the lack of Hanukkah-themed decorations in their Brooklyn neighborhood and around the city. Little did Bryan know then that this letter – and the ‘Hanukkah fairy’ that would adorn their parent’s home in glittering blue and white dreidels, menorahs and Magen Davids for the Festival of Lights every year – would inspire the creation of A Hanukkah Carol, or GELT TRIP! The Musical.
With music by Aaron Kenny, a book and lyrics by Bryan and Rob Berliner, and direction and choreography by Marlo Hunter, A Hanukkah Carol, or GELT TRIP! The Musical is what Bryan and their creative team lovingly refer to as A Christmas Carol for Jews. “Rob and I are two nice Jewish boys who grew up loving Christmas, and A Christmas Carol has been part of our lives forever. We never felt the need to celebrate Christmas to enjoy it.” Bryan says. The story: Chava Kanipshin (played by Samantha Sayah) has an unhealthy obsession with social media. Likes, followers and constant scrolling is the currency she trades in, and it takes a journey through Hanukkah Past, Present and Future – guided by the ghost of influencer Mimi Marley – to jolt her back to reality.
The message of this zany comedy laden with Fiddler on the Roof references is, Bryan says, close to their heart. “The more light we can shine in the world right now the better, and this story is about bringing goodness into the world. What we’ve really enjoyed is making the show not only an adaptation, but also a parody. It’s not only a comedy. It’s also a morality tale. It exists inside the structure of A Christmas Carol, but it’s about Hanukkah.” Be part of a new holiday tradition and take the whole family to see this one.
Catch before Closing
Rigoletto, IN Series Opera
Showing Dec 7 – Dec 15
www.inseries.org
When was the last time you went to the circus? This holiday season, IN Series Opera brings you Giuseppe Verdi’s classic opera Rigoletto like you’ve never seen it before: Under the Big Top, and accompanied by a circus band. Featuring a duke, a jester, a jilted lover and an assassin in a tragicomic portrayal of mistaken identity and the fatal power of a curse, Rigoletto was picked as part of an IN Series audience survey and intended to be performed as part of the company’s 2019-2020 season. The Covid-19 pandemic nixed the original production, but ringmasters Timothy Nelson and Emily Baltzer (read Stage and Music Directors) have resuscitated it for us to enjoy.
Two-time Helen Hayes Award nominated actress, playwright, lyricist and librettist Bari Biern composed the libretto for Nelson’s Rigoletto. She’s worked on the librettos for Don Pasquale, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, staying faithful to the original scores but tweaking them to reflect the idiosyncrasies of both the singers that perform them and the settings they’re staged in. “Timothy’s concept of setting such an emotional and ionate tragedy in a circus is remarkable.” Biern explains. “We’ve been faithful to the original intent of the libretto, but to see how that fits into a circus setting where people go to be entertained and to laugh, but there’s this tragedy playing out in front of them, it’s a great way to turn it on its head.”
Rigoletto will be performed both at the Goldman Theater DCJCC and the Baltimore Theatre Project this month as part of IN Series’ Illicit Opera 2024-2025 season, with Brian Arreola as The Duke, Teresa Ferrara as Gilda and Chad Louwerse as the eponymous Rigoletto.
Don’t Miss!
Joy of Christmas at the Washington
National Cathedral
Dec 14, 2pm & 7pm. Dec 15, 4pm
www.cathedralchoralsociety.org
What can be more magical than listening to the uplifting, celebratory notes of your favourite Christmas carols – sung by a 120 voice choir accompanied by brass – echoing through Washington’s National Cathedral? Conducted by Steven Fox, this year’s Joy of Christmas by the Cathedral Choral Society will premiere Sounds of Stardust by Alexander Campkin for the first time in the US. Our insider tip? Get a seat in the galleries, where you can fully appreciate the powerful acoustics and the beauty of the cathedral’s clerestory and rose window. Buy your tickets now before they sell out!
