A little over 12 hours after their first of three Christmas performances in the 21,000-seat Conference Center last December, Broadway star Ruthie Ann Miles wrapped her arm around actor Dennis Haysbert, whose typically deep and authoritative voice was quivering with emotion as he recounted telling the life story of African philanthropist Charles Mulli during the concert — a narration he said could easily make him “blubber through every line.”
Now, a year later, Haysbert is still wiping away tears.
“I cannot believe how emotional I am today,” the 71-year-old actor said with a laugh near the end of a recent press conference ahead of the concert’s premiere on PBS and BYUtv.
Both Haysbert, who is well known for his role in the TV series “24,” and Miles got emotional several times throughout the 50-minute meeting with reporters as they reflected on taking part in last year’s Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert that will air on BYUtv starting Thursday night.
“I hope everybody in the country will get a chance to watch it,” Haysbert said through tears. “Anybody that thinks they’ve had a tough time, they don’t feel like they can go on, watch this show.”
Dennis Haysbert still feels the power of Charles Mulli’s story
It’s been a year since the Tabernacle Choir filmed last year’s Christmas concerts, but for both Miles and Haysbert, the memories are so vivid that it feels like it’s only been a couple of months.
For Miles, who won a Tony Award for her role in the 2015 Broadway revival of “The King and I,” what stands out most is the hospitality she received amid a tight, whirlwind schedule of rehearsals (the choir’s music director, Mack Wilberg, said he has every rehearsal planned down to the second). The guest artists typically arrive just a few days before the concerts, and there’s a lot to orchestrate. But she never felt stressed.
“I never felt like a cog in a wheel, I never felt like I was a robot,” she said. “Somebody was always thinking of someone else.”
Haysbert also praised the “supportive energy” of the Tabernacle Choir organization — which came in handy as he found himself taken aback by the vast size of the Conference Center.
“I’ve worked in theater and film and television since I was 20. I had never seen a theater like this,” he said. “I don’t usually get very nervous, but in this theater, I was nervous. I was in awe of just the scale of it.”
From that large Conference Center stage, a visibly emotional Haysbert told Mulli’s story — a 6-year-old child abandoned by his parents, remaining homeless for 10 years before gradually building a business empire in Kenya.
Haysbert’s narration spanned decades, detailing Mulli’s change of heart after he found himself turning away children who were as vulnerable as he had once been. Mulli ended up selling his businesses and committing his life to rescuing children — an effort he continues to be actively involved in more than 30 years later.
One of the biggest surprises of the show was that Mulli himself was in attendance. When he came on the stage to have a brief conversation with Haysbert, the “24″ actor said it felt like he had “just met a brother.”
“It was just really powerful,” he recalled during the recent press conference, adding that he started tearing up as he watched it on PBS. “I felt the pain. I also felt the hope and the desire for him to make a better world. And isn’t that what we’re here for, is to try to make a better world for everyone? I believe it’s possible.”
Haysbert said he’s still in touch with Mulli, and hopes to travel to Kenya soon.
“I want to meet these children,” he said. “I want to do whatever I can to help (Mulli) further his search for a good life and education for these children and to help him gather more.”
What ‘Hope of the Season’ means for Ruthie Ann Miles
Miles still gets emotional thinking about her mom being in the audience as she made her Tabernacle Choir debut.
Music was their primary way of communicating with each other as she was growing up, the Broadway star said, and the two would often listen to chamber music and choral music — including the Tabernacle Choir.
“So for my mom to be able to be in the audience with the choir — I feel like it was my mom’s dream come true to be in that environment. I’m Korean American; we don’t use words like ‘I’m proud of you.’ But I’ve never felt such pride from my mom,” Miles said through tears. “I feel very, very blessed.”
The official title of the Christmas concert, “Hope of the Season,” also carries special meaning for Miles, who named her daughter Hope following a family tragedy.
In 2018, Miles, who was seven months pregnant, and her 4-year-old daughter, Abigail, were hit at a crosswalk in New York City. The accident took her daughter, and two months later, Miles suffered a miscarriage, as People reported.
Two years later, she gave birth to Hope.
“In my faith growing up, hope was something sparkly and beautiful and fun to think about. ... And hope doesn’t always feel like that,” she said with emotion. “Hope is something that is planted deep in your heart, when it’s really dark out and you’re looking for a single star.
“It’s not always sparkly,” she continued. “But hope to me is being able to close your eyes and feel and find that spark of light, and you hang on to that and you let it take you and move you into the future.
“That’s what my faith has taught me, and that is what the word ‘hope’ means for me. It’s who my daughter is to us now, and it is what I hope the audience will get from this year’s broadcast.”
‘We’re at it again’
Filming the Christmas concerts marked Miles’ first time in Salt Lake City in over a decade (she was last in Utah for the national touring production of “Annie”).
Haysbert’s history with Utah runs a little deeper.
His brother, Adam Haysbert, was a wide receiver for the BYU Cougars in 1983 and 1984 — the undefeated, national championship-winning team — and several years ago, Dennis Haysbert actually did voiceover ads for BYU football.
“I love the state, I love the city of Provo,” he said. “It’s always been a good time. I’ve always felt very comfortable there. I hope to come back soon.”
Haysbert, who once voiced the Allstate Insurance commercials, is working on a number of films that are coming out next year. Miles, meanwhile, is preparing to headline her first solo concert at the Jazz at Lincoln Center in March.
Even as they move forward with their busy schedules, both artists are adamant that being a part of the Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert, which has become a beloved national tradition, is a standout moment.
“This was probably the most profound experience I’ve had in my career, and that doesn’t come lightly,” Haysbert said. “I don’t make that statement lightly.”
For Wilberg, who has helmed these concerts since Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell and the late actor Edward Hermann took the stage in 2008, collaborating with Miles and Haysbert has been a personal highlight.
“We could not have had more wonderful guest artists,” he said. ”I think that the wonderful performances of Ruthie Ann and Dennis both will live on in my memory for forever, and we’re so grateful that they were able to be with us.”
But for all his enthusiasm, about halfway through the press conference, Wilberg excused himself.
In just a few days, Broadway star Stephanie J. Block and her husband, actor Sebastian Arcelus, would be coming to the Conference Center to put on this year’s Christmas concerts. And, as always, he had a lot to accomplish in just a short amount of time.
“We’re at it again,” Wilberg said with a smile.
How to watch the Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert
”Hope of the Season: Christmas with The Tabernacle Choir” airs Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. MST on BYUtv, with repeats through Christmas Day. It will also air on PBS Dec. 24 at 6 p.m MST.
The program is also available for streaming on PBS.org and the PBS app; and on BYUtv.org and the BYUtv app.