Topic: Live on Stage
Christmas time is here by golly
Disapproval would be folly
Deck the halls with hunks of holly
Fill the cup and don't say when.
Kill the turkeys ducks and chickens
Mix the punch, drag out the Dickens
Even though the prospect sickens
"Brother here we go again"--Tom Lehrer
Seriously, I don't dislike Christmas, but after a solid month of endless Christmas carols, many with the schmatlz cranked all the way to "eleven", I'm ready for it to die a quick and painless (for me) death.
So, feeling this way, why should I subject myself to a program of holiday music sung by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus? Well, first, because it's live music, and second, it's not so sugary as to put me in diabetic shock.
As on last Christmas Eve, I joined Deb and Shana for dinner and then the show at the Castro Theater. This year we're joined by Jim and Becky (2), as well as my friend Skip. We have a nice, casual dinner, the stroll over to the theater for a program that is just thr right length that you feel you got your money's worth, but doesn't have you looking at your watch.
I have a good enough time, but the show isn't as good as last year's. I feel like they're trying a tad too hard to be inclusive, and touching on everything from Christmas and Chanakah to Kwanza, Wicca and Druidism. This yields a bunch of unfamiliar, and, frankly, flat music. They get in some fun bits and play around with some Christmas standards, but the show is just not as well put together or as well staged as last year. It's good, just not very good.
A bit of an anticliax after the Kinsey Sicks...but then, what wouldn't be?
