It’s time to dance around the Christmas tree with New West Theatre’s “Rock the Halls: A Holiday Revue.”
Cast member Scott Carpenter says the production is a little bit weird. “Which I love. It’s a Christmas variety show.”
According to Carpenter, there are seven new cast members and one returning cast member from last year’s production of “Elf.” “They’re all very talented. I’ve had to ‘up’ my game.”
Cast member Erica Hunt says there’s incredible talent in the city. “It’s remarkable. These young performers have just injected this energy. It’s so great to have so many people on stage. It feels very full and festive.”
Carpenter adds it’s fun to be in a mentoring position with a new cast. “We’ve been doing these variety shows for a very long time, so to have this new young cast and see the new ideas that come out of it and the energy. It’s great.”
Director David Mikuliak says last year’s production of “Elf” seemed to capture the city’s imagination and was a very popular show.
The idea of having a larger cast and being able to create a whimsical story was something derived from last year’s show.
“It’s certainly not a Broadway musical, but it’s definitely a music revue. It has that whimsy, a sense of fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously. The cast has really embraced that. It’s been a lot of fun to put that together. It’s about joy and fun. Hopefully, those are elements of the season we can celebrate,” says Mikuliak.
Mikuliak adds he was a performer with New West Theatre in the early 1990s. “This for me, as we began the writing process, became a bit of a throwback to those days when we had larger companies and there was a bit of a focus on sketch writing, comedy and the music has become such a staple in these past years, in terms of it being really tight and professionally done.”
Working with a new and larger cast is almost an echo to a previous time, when music revues had that fresh, through the fourth wall interaction with live audiences, Mikuliak explains. “It’s been fun to develop nostalgically, but also to see it with these young performers who have joined these seasoned performers has been really rewarding. They inspire one another with their work and the joy.”
“Rock the Halls: A Holiday Revue” runs Dec. 11-28 at the Yates Theatre. For more information or to purchase tickets online visit newwesttheatre.com.
