Kristoffer Lowe, Todd Murray, Stacy Sullivan, Sally Wilfert
’Tis the Season
Laurie Beechman Theatre, NYC, November 27, 2018
Reviewed by Marilyn Lester for Cabaret Scenes
The object of ’Tis the Season, announced dapper Todd Murray, was to “put everyone in the Holiday spirit.” Mission accomplished—several times over.
Murray, with Stacy Sullivan, Kristoffer Lowe, and Sally Wilfert, delivered a boffo blast of a holiday show. Only a Scrooge would turn away from the merriment generated by these four with their eclectic mix of numbers both traditional and out of the box. ’Tis the Season is very much more than the sum of its many parts. It’s a beautifully curated and crafted show with an underlying intelligence that makes it a solid contender to be a holiday staple on bigger stages in years to come.
The opener, “Carol of the Bells,” was an attention grabber, with complex harmonies à la a modern madrigal. Those four sublime voices also came together for the penultimate number, “O Holy Night,” which was principally, beautifully rendered by Lowe.
Humor was represented abundantly. Lowe, who’s a natural wit and a pretty funny guy, delivered a priceless “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” with interjected ad-libs. With Sullivan, the two were properly droll with “Text Me Merry Christmas,” cell phones in hand. Not to be outdone in gathering laughs, Wilfert hit comic pay dirt with a hilarious “Wish for Daddy.” Then there were the heartfelt and the nostalgia-laced songs that stir happy memories of Christmas and holidays past. “Christmas Morning, 1969” was such a number, written by two of the Sullivan siblings, Tim and Heather, and sung by Stacy. Wilfert offered a touching “Heirlooms,” while Murray presented a wistful “I Bought You Violets for Your Furs.” He had his own comic moment, at the piano, with a tale of his Aunt Kitty and her penchant for playing “Away in a Manger” in stride-piano style. He also performed his own composition, “I’m Gettin’ Into the Swing of Christmas,” with plenty of pizzazz.
The two extraordinarily talented musicians accompanying the quartet, pianist Yasuhiko Fukuoka and guitarist Troy Fannin (who also added percussive elements) glided seamlessly through the many genres with the lushness of a full band. Their agile support gave musical heft to a show already off the charts as a blue-ribbon winner.
