Shana Bousard and Brian Runbeck
with Joe Bousard & Scott Hay
Holiday Magic and Dreams
ASU Kerr Cultural Center, Scottsdale, AZ, December 22, 2024
Reviewed by Lynn Timmons Edwards
Brian Runbeck asked Shana Bousard “How do you survive in that scary world out there?” Her answer was “You close your eyes and dream of a better world.” Evoking the finale of the musical Camelot in which war has begun and the scene is filled with destruction and flames, this cabaret suggested we remember that once there was a magical spot called Camelot. This was the substance of Holiday Magic and Dreams, a post-2024 election reflection that still wished us all a happy holiday season but was colored by how many performing artists feel these days.
This ensemble of singers and musicians included some of the most talented performers in Arizona, veterans of many holiday cabarets. This year they didn’t include their tribute to Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney, although they recalled it with their arrangement of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.” Were those easier times? They included such Broadway songs such as Stephen Schwartz’s “Magic to Do” and “Corner of the Sky” and Stephen Sondheim’s “Being Alive.” The last two were done so well that I wished they had been sung separately rather than being mashed together. “Pure Imagination” (Anthony Newley/Leslie Bricusse) set the tone up front, and the songs brought us all the way full circle to a reprise of “Camelot.”
They gave us many holiday favorites: “We Need a Little Christmas” (Jerry Herman), a snappy medley of “Winter Wonderland” (Felix Bernard/Richard Bernhard Smith), “Jingle Bells” (James Pierpont), and “Sleigh Ride” (Leroy Anderson). These were preceded by and ended with “Round and Round” (Joe Shapiro/Lou Stallman). That section closed with a reprise of “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” (Mack David/Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston). The musical arrangements were a collaborative effort, and the team of Bousard, Bousard, and Runbeck were masters at their craft.
Joe Bousard is a fine music director and pianist and a composer of songs that have melody and heart. The show included his originals—“Christmas Lullaby,” “Kwanza,” “The Work of Christmas” (with lyrics by Howard Thurman,) and one of the most beautiful I have heard “The Beginning of the Magic,” which may have been written specifically for this show. I wished that the piano had been placed so that he could have been seen better and that he had used a boom mic. When he soloed, he could be heard clearly, but when he added back-up and harmony he was not balanced well with the featured singers.
Shana Bousard and Runbeck have sung together for years, and her Broadway soprano blended with his Broadway baritone like rum and coke. (Or gin and tonic?) In the comedic opening of Act Two they delivered “Sugar and Booze” (Ana Gasteyer), Cole Porter’s “Well Did You Evah?,” and a gender-reversed version of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” (Frank Loesser). With champagne glasses in hand, the duo played off each other with ease. “Christmas Cookies” had a perfect dash of twang, and the audience and the performers were clearly having a wonderful time. They offered duet versions of “Santa Baby” (Joan Javits & Philip Springer) and “The Man with the Bag” (Irving Taylor/Dudley Brooks & Hal Stanley). These could have been solos for Shana, but Runbeck jumped right in, and they sang together in harmony. Perhaps it was all a part of the theme: being alive is being with someone or with family, and we are all in this together.
The ASU Kerr Center is a lovely cabaret space. The premiere seating at tables and chairs was sold out, but there was general seating on the sides. Bravo to the management for bringing in shows and artists of this caliber.
