On a stage where the ancient village of Nazareth holds forth on weekends and Mondays, and where those ornery little brats wreak havoc in `The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" on Saturday afternoons, there are elegant sofas and tables with glowing candles - a parlor just right for gathering family and friends for an evening of carols.
Both the program and the performers change slightly from night to night, but the concept is the same - superb local singers, dressed to the nines, presenting a musical revue spotlighting everything from religious classics and Broadway show tunes to exciting spirituals and a few novelty songs.Much of the talent you may have seen before in Pages Lane Theatre productions, but this pleasant two-hour evening gives patrons a chance to see a very different side of Adelaide (Jeanette Memmott) or Tony Porter or Kathy Pike or Steve Evans and others.
Instead of "Adelaide's Lament," Memmott gave a beautiful rendition of "Rejoice," excerpted from Handel's "Messiah."
Evans performed "O Holy Night" in a considerably more moving way than his cross-town rival in "Farley Family Xmas."
Other selections during the evening included Evans and his lovely daughter, Julie Finlayson, singing "Pine Cones and Hollyberries" (from "Mame"), first as a duet then with Steve singing "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" in counterpoint. Julie later had her own solo spot with Irving Berlin's "White Christmas."
With 16 soloists, sometimes joining in duets and ensemble parts, there was plenty of diversity.
Wednesday evening's other performers included:
Kathy Pike singing "Christmas is a Feeling" and "Come to the Stable"; Rebecca Hansen in "More Than Wonderful" and "Merry Christmas, Darling"; Diane Rosser's renditions of "Go Tell It on the Mountain" and "Special Night" (joined by Larry Nelson); Jan Smith in a dramatic reading of "In the Bleak Mid-Winter," then cavorting with Ruth and Alan Stone-man in "Santa Baby."
Tony Porter went from the off-the-wall humor of Tom Leher's "Christmas Carol" to the poignant "Little Road to Bethlehem," while Alan Stoneman joined Ralph Rodgers for an except from "Scrooge" - a rousing "I Like Life!" . . . Laurel Warr was featured in "Silver Bells" (with audience members invited to chime in - literally) and "Mary's Lullaby" . . . Ruth Stoneman sang a lovely new carol she has written, "Come the Gold," and Glori Naylor performed "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" and "Oh Joyful Children."
Two other notable solos were Dave Hill's "Star of Bethlehem" and Larry Nelson's "Because It's Christmas."
Jan Noyes closed Act One with "The Lord's Prayer," while Act Two opened with Gordon Johnson delivering a Jimmy Durante medley of songs and vaudeville jokes.
Singers who may be part of the performing lineup on other nights include Winifred Merritt, Alyson Stagg-Pratt and Hazel Rowe.
The Pages Lane Singers, an energetic group of teenagers from the theater's acting school, were also featured in several tunes.
Accompanying the proceedings were pianists Judy Knoles and Joan Rodgers and percussionist Merrill Moore.