Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – More holiday fare to further get into the spirit: BIG APPLE CIRCUS, the NY POPS, and the tour of ANNIE muster good cheer

• By drediman
• January 5, 2025
• No Comments

To close out the year, I attended a flurry of diverse performances that mustered good cheer, further ushering me into the holiday spirit. Here are my thoughts on the these year-capping shows.

BIG APPLE CIRCUS: HOMETOWN PLAYGROUND
Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center
Through January 5

One of New York’s most recognizable holiday time entertainment is the Big Apple Circus, which is currently wrapping up performances at Damrosch Park located in the Lincoln Center campus. This year’s show is entitled Hometown Playground (RECOMMENDED), and it pays homage to none other than the circus company’s namesake, taking audiences on a comprehensive — albeit predictable — tour of the New York’s storied neighborhoods and attractions, from the bright lights of the theater district to the festivities of Coney Island. As usual, show’s well-paced two hours is comprised of a well-balanced collection of acrobatic acts, clowning, and other impressive feats — all of which look especially spectacular when experienced in the Big Apple Circus’s intimate tent. Guiding us on this relatively seamless journey across the boroughs are scrappy, entertaining “Pizza Rats” who nicely frame this year’s array of new acts, which include Sofia Petrov soaring above the audience in the “Aerial Orb” act, a slew of rescue dogs making their adorable star turns, the shenanigans of Swedish clown Michael Halverson, the awesome Flying Poemas trapeze family, the hilarious human fountains, contortionist Kalle Pikkhuarju, among others.

ANNIE
The Theater At Madison Square Garden
Through January 5

Also contributing to the holiday spirit is the current national tour of the classic musical Annie (RECOMMENDED), which can also be caught wrapping up performances of its extended New York leg at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. Despite the less than ideal aspects of the impersonal venue — too large and utterly lacking in hospitality — the production nonetheless manages to work its considerable charms on the audience. In the title role, Hazel Vogel is just about ideal, possessing just the right combination of sweetness and scrappy toughness as orphan Annie. In fact, the same can be said of Jenn Thompson’s well-judged touring staging of Thomas Meehan, Martin Charnin, and Charles Strouse’s sturdily-written Tony-winning musical, which boasts just enough spectacle to warrant a prime slot amongst this season’s plentiful holiday offerings. Also quite fine are Christopher Swan as Oliver Warbucks and sterling-voiced Julia Nicole Hunter as Grace, both of whom embody the iconic roles with unforced warmth and winning charisma. Last but not least is Whoopi Goldberg, whose undeniably delicious turn as Miss Hannigan brings bona fide star power and mass commercial appeal to the production.

THE NEW YORK POPS: MERRY AND BRIGHT
Carnegie Hall
Closed

Over at Carnegie Hall, I also had the opportunity to catch the New York Pops’ Christmas concert earlier in December (RECOMMENDED). As in previous years, this iteration of the annual concert exhibited ample spirit and good cheer. This year’s featured vocalist was the fast-rising Jessica Vosk, a musical theater actress who can be currently seen on Broadway in the crowd-pleasing Tony-nominated musical Hell’s Kitchen (Vosk recently took over the role of Jersey, originally played by Shoshana Bean; she’s also well-known for taking on the coveted role of Elphaba in Wicked). Vosk is a fascinating chameleonic artist, whose sought-after concert performances exist at the intersection of the pop vocal stylings of Celine Dion, the Broadway brass of Donna Murphy, and outrageous drag queen campiness. Suffice to say, the fast-rising performer has already attained adoration status amongst many gay men. Although Vosk still seems to be honing her onstage persona, her vocals were invariably thrilling as she wrapped her silvery belt around many a classic and contemporary holiday song selections. At the performance I attended, she was joined by a special guest — none other than the hugely popular Neil Patrick Harris — who brought legitimate cachet of the evening, as did the spirited conducting of the Pop’s beloved longtime music director Steven Reineke.