Jessica Vosk and The New York Pops
Merry and Bright
Carnegie Hall, NYC, Dec 20 & 21, 2024
Reviewed by Shannon Hunt
Photos by Jenny Anderson

Broadway’s Jessica Vosk dazzled Carnegie Hall when she joined the New York Pops for their annual holiday show aptly named Merry and Bright. The concert delivered a rich mix of traditional Christmas standards and newer contemporary favorites and began with an instrumental mix of holiday melodies arranged by conductor Steven Reineke. The orchestra was soon joined by the Essential Voices USA chorus for “We Need a Little Christmas” (Jerry Herman), which set a festive feel-good tone that lasted throughout the show.
Vosk then took the legendary Perelman Stage, and invited some famous friends to sing with her. In Friday’s show Neil Patrick Harris joined her for a comedic mashup of “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” (Jule Styne/Sammy Cohn) and “Winter Wonderland” (Felix Bernard/Richard Bernhard Smith), a track from Vosk’s recently released Christmas album, Sleigh. The next night, J. Harrison Ghee, Tony winner for Some Like It Hot, took the stage to join her in the haunting duet “Winter Song” (Sara Bareilles/Ingrid Michaelson).

Vosk, the star of Wicked and Hell’s Kitchen, exuded endless enthusiasm and charmed the crowd with some hilarious anecdotes and ad-libs. You could tell she was having a blast, particularly during “All I Want for Christmas Is You” (Mariah Carey/Walter Afanasieff), in which she danced and encouraged the crowd to clap and sing along. Given her impeccable comic timing and charisma, one could easily forget her captivating vocal range; that is, until she began her next song. In her stunning “O Holy Night” (Adolphe Adam/John Sullivan Dwight) she extended the final high note to such exquisite perfection that earned its own immediate standing ovation.

The holiday offered the perfect opportunity for her to reprise the beautiful “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” (Hugh Martin) from her unforgettable 2022 Carnegie Hall show, Get Happy: A Judy Garland Celebration. Later, she channeled her inner Barbra Streisand with a frenetic, mile-a-minute rendition of “Jingle Bells” (James Lord Pierpont), a breathless tour de force that kept the audience on the edge of their seats right to the end.
The concert seamlessly integrated both secular and religious songs, including a new Hannukah song, “Eight Days of Light” written by David Chase and Essential Voices USA director Judith Clurman. Reineke stepped aside to let Clurman conduct her own stirring composition, performed in both English and Hebrew, which will now hopefully become a seasonal mainstay.
The night also included a surprise appearance from Santa Claus and his helper, Pecan Pie, who popped up in the audience midway through the show. This festive cameo inspired Vosk to sing “The Man with the Bag” (Irving Taylor/Dudley Brooks), a fun and jazzy ode to the big man himself. They returned later to help conclude the show by leading the audience in a jolly Christmas carol singalong, after which everyone left feeling the joy of the season.