(The cast of Playhouse Holiday Jamboree, photo courtesy of Ivoryton Playhouse)

by Tim Leininger

IVORYTON — The holiday season has officially arrived and with it comes the bevy of annual Christmas shows that the regional theaters of Connecticut produce. This year, at Ivoryton Playhouse, they have a new, enjoyable, family friendly show with Playhouse Holiday Jamboree, created and directed by Katie Barton and Ben Hope, running through Dec. 21 at Ivoryton Playhouse at 103 Main St. in Ivoryton, Connecticut.

            One part rockabilly revue, one part Prairie Home Companion, Playhouse Holiday Jamboree is set on a stage very much like the old Garrison Keillor show. Larry Tobias playing the host — all the actors retain their own names in the show, so Larry Tobias plays “Larry” in the credits. He leads the audience through the show’s four different segments, narrating us through each one, while he and the rest of the cast sing various holiday songs from new compositions to classics like “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and “Go Tell it On the Mountain,” with a touch of folk mixed with 1950s-60s rockabilly flair.

            Each segment has a theme. It opens with “Season’s Meetings” which focuses on global traditions, then goes into “Claus and Effect” focusing on more local Christmas traditions with Santa Claus and the like. After intermission we have “Home Is Where the ‘Hearth Ith’” focusing on the importance of family, and then the show wraps up with “The Reason for the Season,” which focuses on the Nativity story and the Christian traditions around Christmas.

            The show is well-paced with no segment overstaying its welcome, and the cast plays through each segment with infectious enthusiasm and joy. A clever little addition to the show, which feels taken right out of Prairie Home Companion are little commercial interludes for sponsors for the show. For example, leading into the “Claus and Effect” segment, the ensemble performs a jingle for All the Single Kitties Cat Café, and actual cat café located in Old Saybrook that is sponsoring the show. It’s cute, it’s clever, and it helps give the show a homemade feel reminiscent of the old radio shows of the days of yore.

(Elizabeth Nestlerode, Margaret Dudasik, and Macy Robinson in Playhouse Holiday Jamboree. Photo courtesy of Ivoryton Playhouse)

            It’s this nostalgic take on holiday tradition that makes Playhouse Holiday Jamboree feel so inviting. Glenn Bassett’s scenic design not only has a band set up with an exception musical ensemble led by Morgan Morse, but also includes a kitchen and living room set up stage right and left respectively that creates a warm, rustic, home environment. It allows for a bit of theatrics to play into the show as chocolate covered peanut butter balls are being made during one song and shadow puppetry is performed by the fireside in another. The illusion is never that we’re actually in one of these environments. We know this is a performance piece. They’re show elements that give texture and color to what would otherwise just be a performance stage with mics and a band. It breaks up the otherwise static environment.

            The ensemble of actors (Margaret Dudasik, Morgan Morse, Elizabeth Nestlerode, Macy Robinson, Sam Sherwood, and Larry Tobias) are all delightful, each playing various instruments from guitar and piano to banjo, mandolin, and tambourine. It seems more like just a group of friends coming together to perform their favorite songs as part of a regular radio show performed live for an audience. It’s casual, everyone seems to be enjoying the show and the audience feels that and responds in kind.

            Playhouse Holiday Jamboree is a simple, joyful excursion. It’s not dramatic like Hartford Stage’s annual production of A Christmas Carol, and nothing so bawdy as TheaterWorks Hartford Christmas on the Rocks. It’s a treat for the holidays that is fun for the whole family.

PLAYHOUSE HOLIDAY JAMBOREE

TICKETS: https://www.ivorytonplayhouse.org/

PRODUCTION: Created and Directed by Katie Barton and Ben Hope; Stage Manager: James Joseph Clark; Music Director: Ben Hope; Choreographer: Katie Barton; Orchestrator/Music Supervisor: Morgan Morse; Scenic Design: Glenn Bassett; Assistant Stage Manager: Holly Price; Sound Design: Jonathan White; Lighting Design: Jessica Drayton; Props Design: Kat Schorn; Costume Designer: Elizabeth Saylor

CAST

Margaret Dudasik

Morgan Morse

Elizabeth Nestlerode

Macy Robinson

Sam Sherwood

Larry Tobias