Local Musical Offers Blast From Christmas Movies Past

Photo: Yiliang Xiong

Jumping off TV, a new production is bringing several holiday movies to the stage… even Die Hard.

Presented by St. Clair College’s Music Theatre Performance students, Hollywood Holidays is currently enjoying a run at the Chrysler Theatre (located at 201 Riverside Drive West.) Continuing on December 12, 13 and 14, the all-ages show is using comedy, music and dance to bring scenes from Holiday classics to life.

While the list includes Home Alone, Elf, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and Polar Express, the show’s conception led to some obvious controversy too.

“The concept for this show came to mind when I sat back and thought about my favourite things to do with my family during the Holidays,” said Director/Choreographer Kristyn Wiklanski. “We love cuddling up on the couch and watching a different Holiday movie as part of our count down to the Holidays. There are so many great movies that have so many iconic songs that would be so wonderful to bring to life on stage. We sat down with our third-year class and discussed all of our favourite Holiday movies and what iconic moments we should put in the show. The debate of ‘is Die Hard a Holiday Movie’ came up and with that, the concept for the show was created.”

Crafting the show afterwards, students were armed with a long list of favourites. Working from there, the class started looking through these songs in each film to figure out which ones could be strung together for a show. Slowly narrowing it down while also attempting many songs in different orders along the way, the group eventually came up with the right mix: It ultimately resulted in something heartfelt that connects with everyone.

Songs and movies represented include All I Want For Christmas from Love Actually, Christmas in Hollis from Die Hard, Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree from Home Alone, What’s This? from The Nightmare Before Christmas and more. Different dance styles and influences like tap, hip-hop, jazz and a Rockettes-inspired routine will also be featured.

With so much variety, even the director and cast have a hard time choosing their favourite number.

“I think everyone in the production has a different number that they are excited about,” said Wiklanski. “It’s really hard to pick just one. Our Music Director Mike Karloff loves when we give homage to the California Raisins in our claymation section of the movie! I love lighting the entire theatre up with Holiday lights for Christmas Vacation.”

Starting at the beginning of the semester, focus was placed on third year students for auditions due to them having a large part in the creative process. After roles were cast, rehearsals began on the first week of school In September. This was when the creative process and development of the production got started.

As part of their overall course, it’s all designed to give students invaluable experience.

“The Production and show itself is part of our experiential learning component,” said Wiklanski. “That’s where we simulate the industry standard of a production right from the beginning creative process stages, through the audition to the performance. The more we can prepare the students for what the industry looks like after they graduate, the more St. Clair College Alumni you will see performing all over the world.”

Knowing it’s only part of the equation, a spotlight is also placed on other aspects too.

“The biggest thing that we try to teach in these productions is how to entertain the audience,” said the director. “It’s about how to help the audience forget about what is going on outside the theatre, just taking them on a journey and bringing some Holiday Cheer to everyone who comes out to see the show.”

Beyond performances, stage design and costuming were crucial to Presenting so many classic moments. With certain expectations based on each film, students had a goal of making sure audiences would know which movie was being referenced even without dancing or music.

Fleshing out each segment, each one was also given more character by amplifying minor details. As an example, Love Actually has a line about a Christmas lobster, so a Christmas lobster and octopus were incorporated into the production.

It led to films like A Muppets Christmas Carol surprising Wiklanski and unique challenges too.

“Elf I think has really been the most challenging as there is a musical based on the movie,” she said. “We really wanted to stay true to the actual movie version. The scene we selected to create is when the Central Park Rangers are chasing Buddy through the park and people gather on the street and sing to spread the Holiday Cheer. Our lighting designer Kirsten Watt did an amazing job of creating two different worlds in one scene to help bring this to life.”

Selecting many films that were animated or had puppets, students also learnt how to translate them into live action. Although incorporating such movies allowed further freedom without straying far from the source, their characters typically do what real humans can’t. As a result, the director stressed to her students that they needed to convey such things through movement for accurate representation.

Giving each role their all, it’s an effort that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Wiklanski.

“The students have been working so hard, and their talent is incredible,” said the director. “The St. Clair College Music Theatre Performance Students put on amazing performances and it’s definitely one not to be missed.”

Remaining performances of Hollywood Holidays will take place at the Chrysler Theatre on December 12th, 13th and 14th. Showtimes are at 7:30 except for the 2:00pm Sunday matinee. Tickets are $25 (plus taxes and fees) for adults, $15 (plus taxes and fees) for students/youth and can be purchased from the Chrysler Theatre box office (located at 201 Riverside Drive West) or online.

Following Hollywood Holidays, students will present The Wizard of Oz as their next production in April. With the recent box office success of Wicked, everyone is excited to get started with auditions upon returning in January. Giving audiences the chance to see the original story that inspired the film, it will also come out before the second part of Wicked is released in cinemas next year.

In the meantime, growing as performers and creating memories is the focus this holiday season.

“Everyone is looking to just bring smiles and joy to everyone who comes to see the performance,” said Wiklanski. “Every opportunity to perform on stage allows the students to grow as artists, dive a little deeper into character development and find the magic in entertaining people.”