The Good Theater is once again offering a respite from the hustle and bustle of everyday life with a show that’s reminiscent of an old-time holiday television special.
The theater’s eighth annual holiday fundraising event is hosted by artistic director Brian P. Allen and offers patrons the opportunity to see performances by a wonderful array of talent.
This year’s show features Broadway star Sean Palmer, who has an impressive resume of stage and screen credits. He recently played Prince Eric in “The Little Mermaid,” while “Sex and the City” fans will recognize the handsome actor from his recurring role as Stanford Blatch’s boyfriend, Marcus.
Special guests Grace Bradford, Kelly Caufield, Marie Dittmer, Deirdre Fulton, David Goulet, Lynne McGhee, Jennifer McLeod, Stephen Underwood and Marva Pittman join Palmer on vocals and Victoria Stubbs (keyboards), John Lawson (bass/guitar) and Bill Manning (percussion) provide musical accompaniment.
Pittman got the holiday spirit flowing Friday with an opening performance of “Christmas Time is Here.”
Her soulful voice enveloped the audience with heartwarming images of snowflakes, sleigh bells, carols and yuletide by the fireside. Pittman, a returning favorite from North Carolina, had several family members in the audience, making her performance all the more endearing.
She graced the stage again later in the show with a jazzy rendition of “What Child is This” and a last-minute addition of an a cappella duet with Caufield on “Silent Night” that was mesmerizing, with heavenly harmonies. The audience couldn’t have asked for two more angelic voices.
Palmer took the stage after Pittman with Joni Mitchell’s ballad “The River” and returned with the hymn, “In the Bleak Midwinter.” His gorgeous tenor vocals captivated the audience, heartbreaking longing hanging in the air.
The 15-song set flowed, with moving renditions of “The Christmas Song” (McLeod), “Sweet Little Jesus Boy” (Goulet) and “Grown-up Christmas List” (Dittmer), interspersed with such lighthearted songs as “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (Fulton) and “What Are you Doing on New Year’s Eve?” (Caufield with Lawson on acoustic guitar).
Caufield delivered a stunning, show-stopping rendition of “Ave Maria,” and the audience couldn’t stop laughing at Goulet’s humorous performance of “The Twelve Days After Christmas,” which outrageously tells what happened to the gifts from the “Twelve Days of Christmas” after a fight with his true love.
The first half of evening wound to a close with McGhee leading the audience in a singalong of “White Christmas.” And, magically, big fluffy snowflakes softly fell from the night sky during intermission.
The company returned to deliver an 18-song set titled “Music of Broadway and Beyond.” Underwood opened, serenading Allen with “Broadway Baby” from “Follies.” The number showcased Underwood’s many talents, and his interaction with Allen was a real treat.
Palmer delighted the audience with memorable renditions of “Beautiful, Beautiful World” (“The Apple Tree”) and “Her Voice” (“The Little Mermaid”) from his repertoire and an emotion-packed performance of “No Trouble” from “A Christmas Carol – the Concert.”
Pittman brought down the house with a powerful rendition of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” and Goulet again showed off his stylistic range with the soulful “Ol’ Man River” (“Show Boat”) and the entertaining “Easier to Love” (“Baby”).
The beautiful set also included such songs as Fulton’s sassy “Cabaret” (“Cabaret”), Goulet and Bradford’s adorable duet of “I Don’t Need Anything But You” (“Annie”) and the emotional “Make Them Hear You” (“Ragtime”), performed by Caufield.
“Broadway at Good Theater” is an enchanting two-hour escape that warms the heart and soul with song and dance. It’s sure to get you in the holiday spirit.
April Boyle is a free-lance writer from Casco. She can be contacted at:
aprilhboyle@yahoo.com
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