I didn't go to this summer's The Sound of Music presentation at the resort because it sounded as if it would be schmaltzy. Dozens of reports back on the Brian Clowdus outdoor show on the mountain told me I was wrong, that it was "really good."
The new Wintergreen Christmas show of music, produced by the same people, sounded as though would be schmaltzy for sure. But, with a "what the heck" attitude, I got tickets and convinced my wife to go with me. I was right in this case.
The show is schmaltzy, but knowingly so. It's affectionate, corny, dewy-eyed, dreamy, effusive, gushy, nostalgic, colorful, romantic, and sappy.
In other words, like Christmas fun when it's done right. This show is done right. After it was over, the word that came to my mind about the hour-long show was "professional."
Put aside for a moment the impressive pro performances of the three lead talents from The Sound of Music–Jayme Alilaw, Blake Burgess and Julie Trammel–and consider these details:
• Professional theatre lighting over the entirety of Wintergreen Resort's ballroom which changed with each set,
A Very Wintergreen Christmas will have 27 Friday, Saturday and Sunday performances in the Wintergreen Resort ballroom (three shows on Saturdays, two the other days of performances). It started on December 13th, with the last show on December 31st. Tickets and more details here
• Outstanding audio for the performers and the prerecorded accompanying music that worked without a single glitch,
• A large, elaborate stage set (the bright colors and pieces reminded me of 1970s downtown department stores during the holidays) with multiple pieces the performers would use during the performance, and
• Handsomely tailored costumes on all of the performers with careful makeup and hair.
With the large stage and lighting, there is room only for an audience of about a hundred, but it's not an intimate show. It's mostly loud and colorful.
Julie Trammel performs under the lights in an evening dress covered head-to-toe with red sequins that is outrageous with her long red hair. She's either a very good actress or was actually having a great time on stage. Probably both.
Blake Burgess, wearing a tux, handled his lines in the schmaltzy script with style. Performing Blue Christmas, he didn't over-Elvis it.
Jayme Alilaw's performance of Ave Maria was what people were talking about in the parking lot after the show.
There were some eight or so kids on stage at times, ranging from teens to elementary school age who also had performed in The Sound of Music this summer. These young actors and singers were given the role in the Wintergreen Christmas show of playing impressively talented, smart and attractive children. They nailed it.
It's a disciplined show with a silly lightweight script and fun traditional holiday music, with some thoughtful change-of-pace exceptions. (It's not a Christmas music show you would see in a church–this show opens and closes with today’s number one Billboard hit Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You–but the spiritual aspect of the holiday is not ignored.)
So, it's G-Rated, "fun for the entire family." But, it's not a "children's show," and it doesn’t have a sing-a-long, which earns points with me.
Their script’s running joke throughout the show could be summed up as, "We had a big sellout success here this summer with The Sound of Music, so we've come back with our own little Christmas show that has nothing to do with that."
It sounds like a recipe for disaster. It was not. And I had thought the tickets were a bit pricey. I was wrong about that, too. It's more than worth it. -Charles Batchelor
