The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square has announced the guest artists for its annual Christmas concert — and for the first time in the tradition’s 20-plus year history, the performers are married.
Broadway star Stephanie J. Block and her husband, “Madam Secretary” star Sebastian Arcelus, will be the artists in a beloved Christmas tradition that for over two decades has included renowned artists such as Renee Fleming, Audra McDonald and Kristin Chenoweth.
“We are a prayerful family, so when Christ and family come together to meet the gifts we’ve been given, and the opportunity lends itself to share those gifts at Christmastime, we feel very, very lucky,” the couple said in an interview with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prior to the announcement.
Arcelus, who played Jay Whitman in the longrunning CBS hit series “Madam Secretary,” added that the chance to perform with both his wife and the Tabernacle Choir is “an extraordinary surprise and a great honor.”
This year’s concert runs Dec. 11-13.
Who is Stephanie J. Block?
Block’s history with Broadway goes back two decades — she was actually involved in the first workshop for “Wicked” back in 2000, per Playbill. Three years later, she landed her first Broadway role as Liza Minelli in “The Boy from Oz.”
Following her early history with “Wicked,” Block kicked off the first U.S. national tour of the production in the role of Elphaba, and later reprised that role on Broadway from 2007-08.
Block’s role in “The Cher Show,” a production that chronicles the life of the “If I Can Turn Back Time” singer, earned her the 2019 Tony for best actress in a musical.
The singer recently performed both on Broadway and in the national tour of a revival of “Into the Woods,” starring alongside her husband as The Baker’s Wife.
Who is Sebastian Arcelus?
On screen, Arcelus is best known for his role as Jay Whitman, a senior policy adviser turned White House chief of staff on the TV show “Madam Secretary.” He also starred as Lucas Goodwin in the hit Netflix series “House of Cards.”
But well before that, Arcelus was making a name for himself on Broadway. He actually met Block while on the national tour of “Wicked” as Fiyero. Other Broadway credits include “Rent,” “Jersey Boys” and “Elf.”
Most recently, he played The Baker opposite his wife in the national tour of “Into the Woods.”
How to get tickets for the Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert
Tickets to the Christmas concert are complimentary but required. They will be distributed through a random selection process — but limited to four tickets per household.
The window for requesting tickets on the Tabernacle Choir’s website opens Oct. 28 and extends through Nov. 7, according to the news release. Admission is available for attendees ages 8 and up.
There will be a standby line for each night of the Christmas concert in the Tabernacle on Temple Square. The line will form 90 minutes prior to the 8 p.m. concert time.
Tickets will not be required for the 30-minute “Music & the Spoken Word” on Sunday, Dec. 14, which will feature both Block and Arcelus.
What about last year’s Christmas concert?
Last year’s Christmas concert — which featured Broadway star Ruthie Ann Miles and actor Dennis Haysbert as the narrator — will air Dec. 15 and 24 on PBS, and Dec. 18 on BYUtv, according to the news release.
Miles, who won a Tony Award for her role in “The King and I,” said she felt “embraced” by the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square as she performed.
“It does not often happen this way. You come in, you sing your song, and then you’re gone, you know?” she said at a press conference last year, per the Deseret News. “And this has been very different. It really has felt like a welcoming, folding us into a blanket of love.”
As the narrator, Haysbert was visibly emotional while telling the story of Dr. Charles Mulli, who, at the age of 6, was abandoned by his parents and then remained homeless for several years before gradually building a business empire in Kenya.
“It just leaves me full, and I just hope that it’s translating out to the audience — and apparently it is,” he said. “But it is such a glorious feeling to be able to be in this space and deliver this work, and deliver these words, and to know that they are true. … I wish everyone in the world could hear this, I really do.”