North Coast Men's Chorus @ The Hanna Theatre 12/12/09

Leave it to the North Coast Men’s Chorus to whip up a tasty treat for the holidays! Fortunately, the title to this year’s performances Snow Biz didn’t backfire on them, as most of the fluffy white stuff came to earth some 100+ miles east of us.

Dressed in traditional tuxes, (they changed to casual clothes for the second half, but still looked swell!) the men relied more on the beauty of their singing than sequins and sparkle as they sometimes have in the past. To be sure, there were a couple of razzle-dazzle production numbers, but for the most part, it was indeed beautiful songs, beautifully sung. Music Director Richard Cole excels at assembling a varied and fascinating program, and this was no exception.

As always, accompanist Robert Day, choreographer Lora Workman and technical/lighting wizard Michael Rich did way more than those titles indicate. A couple of minor glitches in technical things (primarily due to the new location for the chorus) in no way lessened the enjoyment of the audience. Mike Lunoe, percussion, Adam Tully, bass and Patrick Wickliffe—accompanist for the Coastliners were also valued collaborators. But now – on with the show.

A rousing Hodie! opened the concert, displaying a huge wreath with vari-colored lights (that changed according to the song being performed) hanging on the wall behind the men standing on risers. Irving Berlin was represented by Snow and There’s No Business Like Snow Business—the latter with exceedingly clever lyrics with special meaning to local folks (provided by Dan Bobeczko and Gary DiBianca). Keep Your Lamps (a traditional Spiritual) had a slightly calypso beat, and was followed by Mr. Bobeczko as the marvelous tenor soloist in I Wonder as I Wander.

Ding! Dong! Merrily, on High saw not only a change in the lights of the wreath, but both pianists performing a dazzling duet. (I wish they’d do more of this type of accompaniment—it’s so unusual, and so enjoyable!) Hanukkah Dedication had a good bit of syncopation in its rousing presentation.

The Coastliners and The Thirteen Days of Christmas were, as you might suspect from the title, slightly tipsy, but fun. Joel Fenstermaker and Brandon Bowman were the excellent soloists in The Gift. Closing the first half of the program was a special shortened, dramatized version of Ebenezer the Miser with Stephen Adams as Scrooge. The Ghosts and Tiny Tim were all wonderfully represented, along with a great deal of hilarity!

Be a Santa and Carol of the Bells put us in an upbeat mood, which helped to offset the poignancy of Tom Leber’s heartfelt solo turn in The Christmas Shoes. There were few, if any, dry eyes in the house when the last notes sounded.

The Holi-daze brought out one of the pitfalls of the holiday—a bit too much libation, perhaps—but was counterbalanced by the Coastliners in Carol of the Bartenders which strongly advocated the Don’t Drink and Drive concept. Good for them to present a balanced viewpoint!

There are frequently guest artists for the NCMC concerts, and they did themselves proud this time, with Lora Workman, Katherine DeBoer and Lorena Muscari Vines, as three gorgeous women bemoaning the fact that Something Must Be Wrong with My Mistletoe! The women also proved to be excellent singers and dancers.

The previously mentioned Be a Santa and Turkey Lurkey Time (which closed the show) were the two big production numbers for the men, and as usual, they were uproarious. Some of these gentlemen are obviously trained dancers, however, and wardrobe coordinated by Bryan K. Fetty only added to the overall effect.

As an encore, the men gave us Christmas Old Lang Syne, which sort of says it all.

In this, their 22nd season, the NCMC hosts a Mardi Gras Costume Ball on February 13, and concerts on April 10 & 11, plus June 19 & 20. For more information or to order tickets, call 1.440.799.4270 or visit the website: http://www.ncmchorus.org

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz, who writes: My most recently published book is Ardenwycke Unveiled (e-book and trade paper). Cerridwen has another contemporary romance from me, But Not For Love, currently available only as an e-book, but perhaps will be in print next year. I hope to soon get around to completing some of the 30+ incomplete books in my computer!

By the way, Cerridwen has also accepted two of my short stories in their Scintillating Samples (complimentary reads) area: Song of the Swan and Unexpected Comfort. I love photography as well, as you can see here. Occasionally I teach writing workshops and sometimes do editing or ghostwriting on a free-lance basis. But over and above everything else, there's always been the writing. I can't imagine my life without it.