28 minute read
ARTS & CULTURE
ARTS & CULTURE ARTS & CULTURE
Out ts from the cast party scene in White Christmas
PHOTO: MAIJA ZUMMO Out ts from the cast party scene in White Christmas
PHOTO: MAIJA ZUMMO
The original Columbia Inn sign from the lm and Heather French Henry’s replica red dress
PHOTO: MAIJA ZUMMO
FIRST PERSON
FIRST PERSON ‘White hrist as’ in o in ton ‘White hrist as’ in o in ton An exhibit at the Behringer-Crawford Museum An exhibit at the Behringer-Crawford Museum celebrating the iconic holiday lm cements one celebrating the iconic holiday lm cements one CityBeat writer’s embrace of the musical. CityBeat writer’s embrace of the musical.BY MAIJA ZUMMO
BY MAIJA ZUMMO
To say I dislike musicals is an understatement. I hate them; I don’t understand why anyone needs to break into a song-and-dance routine to describe where they’re going or what they’re doing. So it’s shocking, to no one more so than myself, that White Christmas — which is basically two hours of campy caroling — is one of my favorite lms of all time. e 1954 holiday classic stars Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye as two musical World War II veterans who attempt to save their former commanding general’s Vermont inn from nancial ruin and pay tribute to the “Old Man” with a stage show featuring spirited singing sister duo Rosemary Clooney and VeraEllen. ere’s wintertime romance, physical comedy and pithy dialogue set against a quaint backdrop with stunning costuming, elaborate choreography and lots (and lots) of singing, all complemented by an Irving Berlin soundtrack and liverwurst sandwiches.
In short, it’s a big Old Hollywood vehicle that taps into a romanticized nostalgia for bygone times — albeit through a very white, cisgender lens — and encapsulates the Platonic ideal of the “Christmas spirit.”
And all of it is on display in Irving Berlin’s White Christmas: e Exhibit, a collection at Covington’s BehringerCrawford Museum of movie memorabilia and costumes on loan from the Rosemary Clooney House museum in Augusta, Kentucky.
“ e White Christmas exhibit has a tradition of traveling over the last several years. It’s booked for, I think, the next 10 years,” says Jason French, curator of collections at the BCM. “And it just so happened that this year where it was planned to go wasn’t going to be able to work out and [the Rosemary Clooney House] wanted to do something close.”
As much as White Christmas is a beloved holiday tale, it’s also a local one. Not only was Clooney from the area — she was born in Maysville, Kentucky and went to high school in Cincinnati — but so were co-stars
Vera-Ellen and dancer George Chakiris, who later went on to win an Oscar for his role in West Side Story. e Rosemary Clooney House – which is located in Clooney’s former historic riverside residence in Augusta, where she lived from 1980 until her death in 2002 – was turned into a museum in 2005 by new owners Dr. Steve Henry, a former lieutenant governor of Kentucky, and his wife, Heather French Henry, a former Miss America. French Henry (no relation to the BCM’s French) was born in Augusta and studied fashion and design at the University of Cincinnati’s College of T o say I dislike musicals is an understatement. I hate them; I don’t understand why anyone needs to break into a song-and-dance routine to describe where they’re going or what they’re doing. So it’s shocking, to no one more so than myself, that White Christmas — which is basically two hours of campy caroling — is one of my favorite lms of all time. e 1954 holiday classic stars Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye as two musical Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, which spurred her interest in garment restoration and preservation. She was friends with Clooney, who acted as something of a mentor in dealing with celebrity after French Henry won her Miss America title in 1999. “In return, this Rosemary Clooney museum, and building her collections, has been a way to give back to her — to create this wonderful legacy of her life and career,” French Henry said during a recent NKY History Hour presentation with the BCM.
World War II veterans who attempt to save their former commanding general’s Vermont inn from nancial ruin and pay tribute to the “Old Man” with a stage show featuring spirited singing sister duo Rosemary Clooney and VeraEllen. ere’s wintertime romance, physical comedy and pithy dialogue set against a quaint backdrop with stunning costuming, elaborate choreography and lots (and lots) of singing, all complemented by an Irving Berlin soundtrack and liverwurst sandwiches.
In short, it’s a big Old Hollywood vehicle that taps into a romanticized nostalgia for bygone times — albeit through a very white, cisgender lens — and encapsulates the Platonic ideal of the “Christmas spirit.”
And all of it is on display in Irving Berlin’s White Christmas: e Exhibit, a collection at Covington’s BehringerCrawford Museum of movie memorabilia and costumes on loan from the Rosemary Clooney House museum in Augusta, Kentucky.
“ e White Christmas exhibit has a tradition of traveling over the last several years. It’s booked for, I think, the next 10 years,” says Jason French, curator of collections at the BCM. “And it just so happened that this year where it was planned to go wasn’t going to be able to work out and [the Rosemary Clooney House] wanted to do something close.”
As much as White Christmas is a beloved holiday tale, it’s also a local one. Not only was Clooney from the area — she was born in Maysville, Kentucky and went to high school in Cincinnati — but so were co-stars Vera-Ellen and dancer George Chakiris, who later went on to win an Oscar for his role in West Side Story. e Rosemary Clooney House – which is located in Clooney’s former historic riverside residence in Augusta, where she lived from 1980 until her death in 2002 – was turned into a museum in 2005 by new owners Dr. Steve Henry, a former lieutenant governor of Kentucky, and his wife, Heather French Henry, a former Miss America. French Henry (no relation to the BCM’s French) was born in Augusta and studied fashion and design at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, which spurred her interest in garment restoration and preservation. She was friends with Clooney, who acted as something of a mentor in dealing with celebrity after French Henry won her Miss America title in 1999.
“In return, this Rosemary Clooney museum, and building her collections, has been a way to give back to her — to create this wonderful legacy of her life and career,” French Henry said during a recent NKY History Hour presentation with the BCM.
60th anniversary movie poster
PHOTO: MAIJA ZUMMO 60th anniversary movie poster
PHOTO: MAIJA ZUMMO Vintage White Christmas movie posters
PHOTO: MAIJA ZUMMO Vintage White Christmas movie posters
PHOTO: MAIJA ZUMMO
The fan and dresses from “Sisters”
PHOTO: MAIJA ZUMMO The fan and dresses from “Sisters”
PHOTO: MAIJA ZUMMO
French Henry has spearheaded the accumulation of items for the Rosemary Clooney House, which is now home to more than can even be displayed, including Clooney’s movie costumes and ephemera, architectural salvage from her former Beverly Hills mansion, vintage cars and the self-described “largest collection of White Christmas memorabilia in the world.”
“We have traveled the collection to a wide variety of museums over the past decade,” French Henry tells CityBeat. “Some of the museums include the Upcountry History Museum in Greenville, South Carolina and the Oshkosh Public Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It’s always so great to see how other museums reimagine the collection based on the space they have [for] the exhibition. e Rosemary Clooney House museum is quite limited in space as we are a ‘house’ museum. erefore, the larger museums are able to showcase more of the complete collection.”
At the Behringer-Crawford Museum, the White Christmas exhibit spans multiple rooms. ere are roughly 20 costumes in Plexiglas display cases, organized by scene or song, including Vera-Ellen’s elaborately bejeweled dance out t from “Mandy,” Clooney’s rhinestone gloves from “Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me” and the blue dresses and a fan from “Sisters.”
“Vera and George Chakiris were both from Norwood, right in the center of Cincinnati, so you had not only Vera and George, but Rosemary graduated from Western Hills in Cincinnati. e Tri-State area did an amazing job of producing stars for this movie,” French Henry says. “ e connection of the cast to the TriState area makes exhibiting this collection at BCM a natural choice for us.”
“Most visitors have shared stories of their memories watching [White Christmas] as a tradition during the holiday season,” French Henry adds. “ e music and the costumes are so iconic, which is unlike most movies of that age, where generally the actresses and actors are the only stars. However, in White Christmas, the costumes and songs are equally celebrated and remembered.” e BCM also has vintage White Christmas movie posters on the wall, vignettes featuring chairs and a sign from the Columbia Inn set and bits of unique ephemera, including recently acquired mementos from choreographer Robert Alton and out t spec sheets from costume designer Edith Head. Head created all of the costumes for the White Christmas, as well as one on display from Irving Berlin’s 1942 precursor, Holiday Inn, which rst featured Crosby crooning the song “White Christmas.” at costume — a starspangled chorus girl out t — makes several Easter-egg appearances in the background of the later lm.
“Edith Head is arguably the most important and in uential costume designer in cinematic history,” French Henry says. “She won eight Academy Awards and had a career that spanned nearly 60 years in Hollywood. Her work with both Paramount Studios [which distributed White Christmas] and Universal Studios is regarded as the gold standard in costume design.”
Head didn’t win an Oscar for White Christmas,but that doesn’t make the garments any less memorable to see in person for their detail, design and deference to Vera-Ellen’s 18-inch waist – and for their unique history.
“A majority of the costumes that we’ve been able to nd around the world — because some of them have come from as far away as Scotland or London, some here in the United States, from the state of Washington, from cities like Las Vegas — most of them we’ve been able to restore back to somewhat of their former glory,” French Henry says.
She says they found Clooney’s “Sisters” dress on eBay, listed under “vintage ’50s party dress,” and VeraEllen’s dress with a collector in Texas. It took three years to restore both dresses to their current condition.
“ e ‘Sisters’ number seems to be that huge iconic [song] — outside of the ‘White Christmas’ song — that people have an emotional tie to, so when they see those ‘Sisters’ dresses, that’s like the ‘wow,’” French Henry says. e “Sisters” fan came from Paramount itself. French Henry says she initially contacted the studio, with whom she had worked as Miss America, after she was asked to make a holiday appearance in a red, fur-trimmed dress resembling the one worn by Clooney in the nal scene of White Christmas.
“ at was sort of their big uh-oh moment — they really didn’t know where anything was,” French Henry says.
Eventually, French Henry, a designer and her mother – a savvy seamstress – made a replica of the garment, which is on display at the BCM and is the item that launched the Clooney collection.
French Henry says that aAfter her call, Paramount began scouring “every crevice, corner and closet” and found the “Sisters” fan, which the studio loaned to the Rosemary Clooney House as its rst o cial piece of memorabilia ( e studio actually found both fans, but one was broken, reportedly because either Danny Kaye or Bing Crosby kept
French Henry has spearheaded the accumulation of items for the Rosemary Clooney House, which is now home to more than can even be displayed, including Clooney’s movie costumes and ephemera, architectural salvage from her former Beverly Hills mansion, vintage cars and the self-described “largest collection of White Christmas memorabilia in the world.” “We have traveled the collection to a wide variety of museums over the past decade,” French Henry tells CityBeat. “Some of the museums include the Upcountry History Museum in Greenville, South Carolina and the Oshkosh Public Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It’s always so great to see how other museums reimagine the collection based on the space they have [for] the exhibition. e Rosemary Clooney House museum is quite limited in space as we are a ‘house’ museum. erefore, the larger museums are able to showcase more of the complete collection.” At the Behringer-Crawford Museum, the White Christmas exhibit spans multiple rooms. ere are roughly 20 costumes in Plexiglas display cases, organized by scene or song, including Vera-Ellen’s elaborately bejeweled dance out t from “Mandy,” Clooney’s rhinestone gloves from “Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me” and the blue dresses and a fan from “Sisters.” “Vera and George Chakiris were both from Norwood, right in the center of Cincinnati, so you had not only Vera and George, but Rosemary graduated from Western Hills in Cincinnati. e Tri-State area did an amazing job of producing stars for this movie,” French Henry says. “ e connection of the cast to the TriState area makes exhibiting this collection at BCM a natural choice for us.” “Most visitors have shared stories playfully slapping one another with it during the lming of the scene). “We really still thought, ‘Oh we’ll just have Rosemary’s house, we’ll preserve it and we’ll have it open during festivals and we’ll be able to show a couple of things,’” French Henry says. “Well one thing led to the next and Paramount found a few more items and we privately purchased a few items, and now the museum is chock full.” But even if visitors don’t care about the costumes, the Behringer-Crawford Museum’s French says the White Christmas exhibit has multiple stories to interest museumgoers. “ ere’s the holiday tradition of it. ere’s the story of Edith Head, the design, the design elements of it, the individual stories of the actors and the actresses, and the people involved in it,” he says. “ e fact that it’s really one of those post-World War II movies that’s addressing veteran’s issues — it’s really the only Christmas movie that does that at all. ‘What do you do with a general? What do you do when people are coming back from the con ict broken?’ You can pull this lm apart and there’s so many layers of fascinating history to it.” French Henry has even set up a philanthropic arm of the traveling exhibit called Operation Waverly, named after the lm’s General Waverly (owner of the failing Columbia Inn), which bene ts veterans. And the Behringer-Crawford Museum is collecting items for the Ohio Valley Goodwill veterans transition program. In addition to all of that, the lm also has “this really great local connection,” French says. “ ere’s a lot of talent from our region, and we like telling those stories.” of their memories watching [White Christmas] as a tradition during the holiday season,” French Henry adds. “ e music and the costumes are so iconic, which is unlike most movies of that age, where generally the actresses and actors are the only stars. However, in White Christmas, the costumes and songs are equally celebrated and remembered.” e BCM also has vintage White Christmas movie posters on the wall, vignettes featuring chairs and a sign from the Columbia Inn set and bits of unique ephemera, including recently acquired mementos from choreographer Robert Alton and out t spec sheets from costume designer Edith Head. Head created all of the costumes for the White Christmas, as well as one on display from Irving Berlin’s 1942 precursor, Holiday Inn, which rst featured Crosby crooning the song “White Christmas.” at costume — a starspangled chorus girl out t — makes several Easter-egg appearances in the background of the later lm. “Edith Head is arguably the most important and in uential costume designer in cinematic history,” French Henry says. “She won eight Academy Awards and had a career that spanned nearly 60 years in Hollywood. Her work with both Paramount Studios [which distributed White Christmas] and Universal Studios is regarded as the gold standard in costume design.” Head didn’t win an Oscar for White Christmas,but that doesn’t make the garments any less memorable to see in person for their detail, design and deference to Vera-Ellen’s 18-inch waist – and for their unique history. “A majority of the costumes that we’ve been able to nd around the world — because some of them have come from as far away as Scotland or London, some here in the United States, from the state of Washington, from cities like Las Vegas — most of them we’ve been able to restore back to somewhat of their former glory,” French Henry says. She says they found Clooney’s “Sisters” dress on eBay, listed under “vintage ’50s party dress,” and VeraEllen’s dress with a collector in Texas. It took three years to restore both dresses to their current condition. “ e ‘Sisters’ number seems to be that huge iconic [song] — outside of the ‘White Christmas’ song — that people have an emotional tie to, so when they see those ‘Sisters’ dresses, that’s like the ‘wow,’” French Henry says. e “Sisters” fan came from Paramount itself. French Henry says she initially contacted the studio, with whom she had worked as Miss America, after she was asked to make a holiday appearance in a red, fur-trimmed dress resembling the one worn by Clooney in the nal scene of White Christmas. “ at was sort of their big uh-oh moment — they really didn’t know where anything was,” French Henry says. Eventually, French Henry, a designer and her mother – a savvy seamstress – made a replica of the garment, which is on display at the BCM and is the item that launched the Clooney collection. French Henry says that aAfter her call, Paramount began scouring “every crevice, corner and closet” and found the “Sisters” fan, which the studio loaned to the Rosemary Clooney House as its rst o cial piece of memorabilia ( e studio actually found both fans, but one was broken, reportedly because either Danny Kaye or Bing Crosby kept playfully slapping one another with it during the lming of the scene). “We really still thought, ‘Oh we’ll just have Rosemary’s house, we’ll preserve it and we’ll have it open during festivals and we’ll be able to show a couple of things,’” French Henry says. “Well one thing led to the next and Paramount found a few more items and we privately purchased a few items, and now the museum is chock full.” But even if visitors don’t care about the costumes, the Behringer-Crawford Museum’s French says the White Christmas exhibit has multiple stories to interest museumgoers. “ ere’s the holiday tradition of it. ere’s the story of Edith Head, the design, the design elements of it, the individual stories of the actors and the actresses, and the people involved in it,” he says. “ e fact that it’s really one of those post-World War II movies that’s addressing veteran’s issues — it’s really the only Christmas movie that does that at all. ‘What do you do with a general? What do you do when people are coming back from the con ict broken?’ You can pull this lm apart and there’s so many layers of fascinating history to it.” French Henry has even set up a philanthropic arm of the traveling exhibit called Operation Waverly, named after the lm’s General Waverly (owner of the failing Columbia Inn), which bene ts veterans. And the Behringer-Crawford Museum is collecting items for the Ohio Valley Goodwill veterans transition program. In addition to all of that, the lm also has “this really great local connection,” French says. “ ere’s a lot of talent from our region, and we like telling those stories.”
Holiday Inn dress PHOTO: MAIJA ZUMMO Costumes from the “Mandy” dance sequence
Holiday Inn dress PHOTO: MAIJA ZUMMO
PHOTO: MAIJA ZUMMO Costumes from the “Mandy” dance sequence PHOTO: MAIJA ZUMMO“The music and the costumes are so
“The music and the costumes are so iconic, which is unlike most movies of that iconic, which is unlike most movies of that age, where generally the actresses and age, where generally the actresses and actors are the only stars. However, in White actors are the only stars. However, in White Christmas, the costumes and songs are Christmas, the costumes and songs are equally celebrated and remembered.” equally celebrated and remembered.”
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas:
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas: The Exhibit runs through Jan. 8 at the Behringer-Crawford Museum (1600 Montague Road, Covington) as part of its Holly Jolly Days exhibit. The Exhibit runs through Jan. 8 at the Behringer-Crawford Museum (1600 Montague Road, Covington) as part of its Holly Jolly Days exhibit. Info and tickets: bcmuseum.org. Info and tickets: bcmuseum.org.
BY RICK PENDER
L-R: Justin McCombs, Candice Handy and Geoffrey Warren Barnes III star in Every Christmas Story Ever Told at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. L-R: Justin McCombs, Candice Handy and Geoffrey Warren Barnes III star in Every Christmas Story Ever Told at Cincinnati PHOTO: MIKKI SCHAFFNER PHOTOGRAPHY Shakespeare Company.
It’s a bit of an irony that the biggest long-term hit for the city’s classic stage, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, is a show that pokes fun at “beloved holiday classics” (aka “BHCs”) —Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And en Some!) by Michael Carleton, James FitzGerald and John K. Alvarez.
It begins as another iteration of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol but quickly goes o the rails when two actors rebel against a colleague intent on staging yet another iteration of the holiday staple that’s been produced by countless theater companies across America (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park has taken a break from producing its version of A Christmas Carol this year with a promise of a new adaptation for 2023, and Cincinnati Landmark Productions is o ering a revival of its musicalized version of the show at the Covedale Center for the Performing Arts).
Every Christmas Story goes o on a merry jaunt through pop culture favorites such as It’s a Wonderful Life, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Charlie Brown Christmas and more. e theater annually ramps up the frivolity and keeps this annual production fresh and fun with send-ups of everything from Dickens to Dr. Seuss in an evening of hijinks and ad-libbed, topical humor. In advance publicity, Cincy Shakes gently warns that this is “a show best enjoyed by adults and older teens; it is not recommended for any theatergoers young enough to believe in Santa Claus.”
“ is show is predicated on a familiarity with pop culture. We look at the recent iteration and back at the original script as well,” says Cincy Shakes veteran Jeremy Dubin, who has been the show’s director for 15 of its 16 years (the show did not premiere in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). “But over the years we’ll take some time at rehearsals and add some things. e actors absolutely contribute to the process.”
Justin McCombs, a rubbery comedic veteran, has been in the show every year from the beginning. Dubin praises McCombs’s ability to “exercise his inner child.”
Recent additions to the show Geoffrey Warren Barnes II and Candice Handy bring their own senses of humor to the staging, coming up with personal bits that hit the audience’s funny bones night after night.
Cincy Shakes has its own particular take on one aspect of the show: Drunk Santa.
“[ e character] was a creation when we started the show in the courtyard at Arnold’s Bar & Grill back in the day,” Dubin says. “It was a creation of necessity — a kind of stage manager, crowd wrangler who played a boom-box with sound cues. It was fun interacting with the crowd, and it became more and more a beloved part of the show.” After several years, the show outgrew Arnold’s and moved to the company’s former Race Street theater. By that time, Drunk Santa had become rmly installed as his own “BHC,” a presence on the side to throw in snarky comments. is year, the completely improvised role is being undertaken for the rst time by Colleen Dougherty, a threeyear veteran with the company.
“She will nd her way. It’s out of the brain of the actor and in reaction to the crowd. Colleen is the youngest member of the cast, the rst Gen-Z actor to perform in the show,” Dubin says.
Since moving to the new Otto M. Budig eater, the show has more space.
“We’ve expanded the set,” Dubin says. “We have this big reveal moment. When the audience comes in, it’s traditionally Dickensian. en the entire set ips around to an over-the-top scene. Our designer says, ‘Christmas is thrown up.’ It usually garners applause from the audience.”
Asked to pick his favorite moment, Dubin cites McCombs’s demented and silly performance in a ri on Dylan omas’s reverie on A Child’s Christmas
in Wales, misunderstood here as A Child’s Christmas with Whales. He comes onstage in a silly pirate’s out t. “And every year, we add a new element. After 16 years, he’s really loaded down — parrot on one shoulder, an octopus on another, eye patch, three swords, a peg leg,” Dubin says. Dubin also cherishes McCombs’s portrait of Mr. Gower in the second act’s mashup of It’s a Wonderful Life with A Christmas Carol. “He plays him with this big cigar.” Just describing it, Dubin begins to laugh. “I have tears in my eyes every time I watch him do this.” e show continues to break Cincy Shakes audience records annually, and its run has been expanded to meet the demand. “We had to add more and more chairs to that courtyard,” Dubin recalls about the early years at Arnold’s. “We outgrew that and moved it to our old theater. We were still selling out the weeks before Christmas, so we kept pushing back and back.” at’s possible now at the company’s new theater in Over-the-Rhine. PHOTO: MIKKI SCHAFFNER PHOTOGRAPHY I t’s a bit of an irony that the biggest long-term hit for the city’s classic stage, Cincinnati Shakespeare For 2022, performances are at 7:30 p.m. ursday-Sunday, with a Monday performance on Dec. 19 and two Wednesday performances on Dec. 21 Company, is a show that pokes fun and 28. Matinees at 2 p.m. are avail-at “beloved holiday classics” (aka able on Dec. 17, 18 and 31. An audio-“BHCs”) —Every Christmas Story Ever described performance is set for Dec. Told (And en Some!) by Michael 16, and a sign-language-interpreted Carleton, James FitzGerald and John K. rendition will be o ered on Dec. 31. Alvarez. “ ose actors are working hard,”
It begins as another iteration of Dubin points out in reference to their Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol packed performance schedule.but quickly goes o the rails when two After a decade and a half, Dubin says actors rebel against a colleague intent he still has great fun staging the show. on staging yet another iteration of the “It’s a joy and I love it. I love the holiday staple that’s been produced people. I pop in numerous times during by countless theater companies across the run, stick my head in from the lobby America (Cincinnati Playhouse in the when a bit’s coming up that I want to Park has taken a break from producing watch,” Dubin says. its version of A Christmas Carol this Every Christmas Story Ever Told is year with a promise of a new adapta- perfect for date nights, families with tion for 2023, and Cincinnati Landmark older children and teens, and com-Productions is o ering a revival of its pany holiday outings. eatergoers are musicalized version of the show at the encouraged to arrive with Christmas Covedale Center for the Performing sweaters and Santa hats and enjoy fes-Arts). tive drinks at the lobby bar before (and
Every Christmas Story goes o on a during) the show! Attending the show merry jaunt through pop culture favorhas become its own “beloved holiday ites such as It’s a Wonderful Life, Rudolph tradition.” the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Charlie Brown Christmas and more. e theater annually ramps up the frivolity and keeps this annual production fresh and fun with send-ups of everything from Dickens to Dr. Seuss in an evening of hijinks and ad-libbed, topical humor. In advance publicity, Cincy Shakes gently warns that this is “a show best enjoyed by adults and older teens; it is not recommended for any theatergoers young enough to believe in Santa Claus.” “ is show is predicated on a familiarity with pop culture. We look at the recent iteration and back at the original script as well,” says Cincy Shakes veteran Jeremy Dubin, who has been the show’s director for 15 of its 16 years (the show did not premiere in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). “But over the years we’ll take some time at rehearsals and add some things. e actors absolutely contribute to the process.” Justin McCombs, a rubbery comedic veteran, has been in the show every year from the beginning. Dubin praises McCombs’s ability to “exercise his inner child.” Recent additions to the show Geoffrey Warren Barnes II and Candice Handy bring their own senses of humor to the staging, coming up with personal bits that hit the audience’s funny bones night after night. Cincy Shakes has its own particular take on one aspect of the show: Drunk Santa. “[ e character] was a creation when we started the show in the courtyard at Arnold’s Bar & Grill back in the day,” Dubin says. “It was a creation of necessity — a kind of stage manager, crowd wrangler who played a boom-box with sound cues. It was fun interacting with the crowd, and it became more and more a beloved part of the show.” After several years, the show outgrew Arnold’s and moved to the company’s former Race Street theater. By that time, Drunk Santa had become rmly installed as his own “BHC,” a presence on the side to throw in snarky comments. is year, the completely improvised role is being undertaken for the rst time by Colleen Dougherty, a threeyear veteran with the company. “She will nd her way. It’s out of the brain of the actor and in reaction to the crowd. Colleen is the youngest member of the cast, the rst Gen-Z actor to perform in the show,” Dubin says. Since moving to the new Otto M. Budig eater, the show has more space. “We’ve expanded the set,” Dubin says. “We have this big reveal moment. When the audience comes in, it’s traditionally Dickensian. en the entire set ips around to an over-the-top scene. Our designer says, ‘Christmas is thrown up.’ It usually garners applause from the audience.” Asked to pick his favorite moment, Dubin cites McCombs’s demented and silly performance in a ri on Dylan omas’s reverie on A Child’s Christmas in Wales, misunderstood here as A Child’s Christmas with Whales. He comes onstage in a silly pirate’s out t. “And every year, we add a new element. After 16 years, he’s really loaded down — parrot on one shoulder, an octopus on another, eye patch, three swords, a peg leg,” Dubin says. Dubin also cherishes McCombs’s portrait of Mr. Gower in the second act’s mashup of It’s a Wonderful Life with A Christmas Carol. “He plays him with this big cigar.” Just describing it, Dubin begins to laugh. “I have tears in my eyes every time I watch him do this.” e show continues to break Cincy Shakes audience records annually, and its run has been expanded to meet the demand. “We had to add more and more chairs to that courtyard,” Dubin recalls about the early years at Arnold’s. “We outgrew that and moved it to our old theater. We were still selling out the weeks before Christmas, so we kept pushing back and back.” at’s possible now at the company’s new theater in Over-the-Rhine. For 2022, performances are at 7:30 p.m. ursday-Sunday, with a Monday performance on Dec. 19 and two Wednesday performances on Dec. 21 and 28. Matinees at 2 p.m. are available on Dec. 17, 18 and 31. An audiodescribed performance is set for Dec. 16, and a sign-language-interpreted rendition will be o ered on Dec. 31. “ ose actors are working hard,” Dubin points out in reference to their packed performance schedule. After a decade and a half, Dubin says he still has great fun staging the show. “It’s a joy and I love it. I love the people. I pop in numerous times during the run, stick my head in from the lobby when a bit’s coming up that I want to watch,” Dubin says. Every Christmas Story Ever Told is perfect for date nights, families with older children and teens, and company holiday outings. eatergoers are encouraged to arrive with Christmas sweaters and Santa hats and enjoy festive drinks at the lobby bar before (and during) the show! Attending the show has become its own “beloved holiday tradition.”
Every Christmas Story Ever Told
Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!), produced by Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, continues through Dec. 31 at the Otto M. Budig eater, Over-the-Rhine. (And Then Some!), produced by Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, continues through Dec. 31 at the Otto M. Budig eater, Over-the-Rhine. Info: cincyshakes.com. Info: cincyshakes.com.
