Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Streaming Diary: Wholesome holiday entertainment via NORM LEWIS’s Christmas show, the Old Vic’s A CHRISTMAS CAROL, and Irish Rep’s MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS

• By drediman
• December 19, 2020
• No Comments

For those of you seeking more traditional, wholesome holiday entertainment, I recommend that you check out the recently-viewed virtual Christmas treats below.

NORM LEWIS: CHRISTMASTIME IS HERE!
Feinstein’s/54 Below
On-demand through December 31

For a number of years now, the charismatic Norm Lewis has been selling out Feinstein’s/54 Below with his popular annual Christmas show. And why not – with his irrepressible personality, smooth baritone, and dashing good looks (that irresistible smile!), it’s hard to resist the total package. Good thing for us, Mr. Lewis has kept up the tradition this year, despite the shutdown of performance venues citywide. Although 2020’s holiday show (RECOMMENDED) has had to go digital, it remains a real charmer. Indeed, Christmastime Is Here! finds the Broadway star in fabulous voice, sounding oh-so-sweet singing an array of holiday favorites. For me, however, the highlights of the evening are when Mr. Lewis delves into the musical theater catalogue – including a winning “Lovers on Christmas Eve” from I Love My Wife with the lovely Sierra Boggess (with whom Mr. Lewis co-starred on Broadway in The Little Mermaid and The Phantom of the Opera), a moving “Bring Him Home” from Les Misérables, and a pristine “Music of the Night” from The Phantom of the Opera. The virtual presentation (suavely directed by Richard Jay-Alexander) is also one of the most spectacularly filmed cabaret shows I’ve seen. With its multiple angles and high definition, it’s a flattering document of both Mr. Lewis and the indispensable supper club.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL
The Old Vic
Lives-streamed through December 24

Like The Nutcracker, there’s no shortage of (virtual) stage adaptations of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol out there. Already this season, I’ve raved about Jefferson Mays’ riveting one-man take on the classic, as well as Manual Cinema’s bewitching multimedia production (a looser adaptation which still retains the spirit of the underlying work). Add to the list Jack Thorne’s resonant version (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), which has become an annual tradition at London’s Old Vic Theatre, and where it continues to be. This holiday season, the production is being live-streamed from the stage of the Old Vic’s historic stage as part of the theater company’s hugely successful In Camera series. What distinguishes Mr. Thorne’s music-driven version is the way it fleshes out Scrooge’s backstory, thereby imbuing his eventual catharsis with a forceful emotional punch. I had seen the production live when it premiered on Broadway last year and was, unexpectedly, deeply moved by it. I’m glad to report that the magic of the in-person experience has translated beautifully to the screen (although I did miss the cast’s festive pre-show interaction with the audience). For this year’s virtual rendering, led terrifically by Andrew Lincoln as Scrooge, director Matthew Warchus has had to adjust his staging to accommodate social distancing measures. The end result, however, retains the production’s intimacy through some rather ingenious live editing/mixing.

MEET ME IN ST. LOUS
Irish Repertory Theatre
On-demand through January 2

Finally, we have Irish Repertory Theatre’s virtual revival of Meet Me in St. Louis (RECOMMENDED), courtesy of New York’s Irish Repertory Theatre. The Chelsea-based Off-Broadway theater company had a big hit on its hands when it staged the musical back in 2006. For this atypical holiday season, Irish Rep has returned to the stubbornly old-fashioned piece (which is set during the turn of the century), albeit in a truncated 90-minute form. I actually quite like the abbreviated version of Hugh Wheeler’s book — I frankly don’t care much for the petty domestic squabbles of the musical’s privileged, upper-middle-class family. All I need for Meet Me in St. Louis to work is just enough narrative context – and I got it – for that glorious score (mostly the doing of Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane) to hang its hat on. Happily, Irish Rep’s cast does justice to such classic songs as “The Boy Next Door”, “The Trolley Song”, and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”. The renditions are classy without being overdone. Although the work is impossibly old-fashioned, the production’s charming, color-blind cast (notably featuring such talents as Shereen Ahmed, Melissa Errico, Ali Ewoldt, and Max von Essen) and Charlotte Moore’s loving direction make this St. Louis worth meeting.