HOLIDAY CHEESE
The Transcendence Theatre Company is based out of Sonoma County and is known for putting on live theater productions usually in the summer, often in actual wineries. They have combined their efforts with Marin Theatre out of Mill Valley for this production of holiday music featuring performers from various Broadway productions. But instead of a sumptuous holiday buffet, what we got from Broadway Holiday was cheese.
Transcendence Theatre Company’s Broadway Holiday
With lots of holiday music to choose from, and with a talented cast, it seems like a surefire way to bring people into the theater. Unfortunately, the show is a huge disappointment. It felt and sounded like a colorized version of an old Lawrence Welk Holiday episode. While no one was expecting hip hop versions of holiday songs, the presentation here is outdated and from another era. Even with contemporary artists such as Avril Lavigne and the Zac Brown Band, songs sounded saccharine, as if performed by The Lennon Sisters. Sadly, the presentation of the music has not aged as well as the demographics of the audience — definitely an older crowd, a good chunk of which left at intermission.
Alicia Albright and Neil Starkenberg
Conceived By Tony Gonzalez, Colin Campbell McAdoo and Matt Smart, songs from The Andrews Sisters, Elvis Presley, The Pajama Game, The Sound of Music and Mame were featured. The female performers were all smiles and perky in their bright red holiday dresses and perfect hair but it definitely looked like a throwback. The men didn’t fare any better. Big wide smiles and an “aw shucks” delivery grew very tiring very quickly. The choreography didn’t rise above a college musical and felt safe and sanitized.
Transcendence Theatre Company’s Broadway Holiday
Maybe if the show were played for laughs or camp, it could have been a more enjoyable experience. The sad part is that a lot of combined talents came together to put this show on. I feel like Ebenezer Grinch giving a less than fun review to a local holiday show with sweet, earnest performers. Maybe having younger people on the board with fresher ideas could help if this company wants to have a holiday show in the future. For this Holiday Ordeal – corny, inauthentic, unoriginal and lacking in creativity – I had to treat my “Plus One” to dinner afterwards for dragging him across the Golden Gate Bridge on a weeknight to sit through this.
Neil Starkenberg, Alicia Albright and Juli Biagi
“Bah Humbug” indeed!
Ruby Lewis and Melanie Fernandez
photos by Rob Martel
Transcendence Theatre Company’s Broadway Holiday
Broadway Holiday
Marin Theatre in Mill Valley December 12-15, 2024
Sebastiani Theatre in Sonoma December 18-19, 2024
for tickets, call 877-424-1414 Ext. 1 or visit Transcendence Theatre
