Overture to another New Year

Christmas Day turned out to be a wet slog over the hump to Port Alberni. At Cameron Lake we came across Santa Claus enjoying his annual post-delivery fishing trip, umbrella unfurled against the raging monsoon. However, enjoying a superb dinner at our son Cory’s home with the grandchildren more than compensated for the depressing weather. On Boxing Day with the ‘Pineapple Express’ still rolling across Vancouver Island, the full Miller clan gathered at our home in Nanaimo for the annual annihilation of the Christmas bird.

On Wednesday Pat and I traveled over to the big city to see the Arts Club Theatre Company’s performance of White Christmas the Musical. Actually we had tickets for last year’s edition of the show but on our way to catch a ferry I discovered our tickets were for an afternoon performance, not the evening performance which we’d timed our travel plans around. Embarrassingly turning tail just short of Departure Bay, we drove home. This year I triple checked curtain time before leaving. However I almost blew it again. Being mid-week, I thought I wouldn’t need to contribute to Commodore Hahn’s annual million-dollar salary by forking out $17.50 for a ferry reservation. Luckily I changed my mind shortly before heading out and coughed up the fee online. Reaching the ferry terminal the traffic display monitors were already flashing “Ferry Full”. With strong winds whipping up the strait the shuddering Queen of Oak Bay was an hour late docking at Horseshoe Bay. Coupled with a gridlocked Lions Gate Bridge we just had time to grab supper before show time.

White Christmas the Musical was inspired by the 1954 movie starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera Ellen and Rosemary Clooney. According to Hollywood lore, both Fred Astaire and Donald O’Connor turned down the male shared-lead with Crosby before third-stringer Danny Kaye signed on. I’ve watched the film a zillion times over the years and caught the last half yet again just before Christmas. Since you can’t change scenes as quickly onstage as you can in film, there are a number of differences in the live theatre version. However the best moments are there, including the thread-worn gags and pratfalls. The colourful costumes in the Arts Club offering were absolutely stunning. The tap-dancing production numbers exploded on the live stage like dovetailed strings of firecrackers. Then there were all those wonderful Irving Berlin song hits - Blue Skies, I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm, Sisters, How Deep is the Ocean, Count Your Blessings Instead Of Sheep, Snow and of course White Christmas, the iconic seasonal melody that habitually warms our hearts and for the Berlin estate, adds a few more million dollars in royalties.

After the show Pat and I threaded our way down through the departing audience to the orchestra pit to have a visit with Ken Cormier who was the musical director for this performance. Ken was scheduled to play the matinee this day but when we emailed to say we’d be attending the 7:00 pm performance he switched with the alternate conductor/keyboardist Bruce Kellett, to play the evening show. Port Alberni audiences will know Ken Cormier through his many appearances with the Timbre! Choir. Ken will be coming over to the island to accompany Timbre!’s Last Night at the Proms concert on April 9th.

Being a musician I’m always interested in what’s going on in the orchestra pit. These days computers have found a permanent place in show bands, usually handling the sound of a string section. The original score of White Christmas the Musical calls for an orchestra of 23. Using two keyboard players firewired to computers, coupled with acoustic musicians on trumpet, saxophone, trombone and percussion, the seven pit musicians at the Arts Club Theatre managed to credibly cover the instrumental nuances of a much larger orchestra. 

Staying overnight at the Holiday Inn Downtown we spent the following day drooling at all the Boxing Day Week 70%-off-everything bargains. We also caught a matinee screening of a newly released film entitled The King’s Speech starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham. The movie is the story of King George VI of Britain, his unwanted ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the shy and stutter-plagued monarch deal with the stress of the public speaking engagements that came with being King. Having seen almost every film released in 2010 I’d wager the film has several Academy Awards in store, perhaps even Best Picture if the American Hollywood-based members of the Academy can bring themselves to vote a British Film top prize.

Enjoying the big city all spiffed up for Christmas and unable to resist the range of bargains presented at every turn, Pat and I decided to stay over an extra night and partake in the Boxing week shopping mania. Taking the Canada Line to Oakridge Centre, Pat was thrilled to find the perfect performance gown for the next Timbre! concert and I was able to pick up a few software additions for my computer at the Apple Store. Returning downtown I finally agreed to the purchase of a new suit, something I’ve resisted for several years. With 50% off the list price it was a no-brainer that the time had come. Unlike Pat, trying on new clothes I find about as exciting as having a root canal. However, I patiently rode out the whole modus operandi, peeling off and on an assortment of jackets, colourful shirts and ties, climaxed by standing on a raised pedestal to be measured by a haggard tailor overwhelmed by the Boxing-week sales storm.

Returning to the island by ferry on New Years Eve, we arrived home in time to catch the New York Philharmonic Orchestra’s live TV performance from Lincoln Centre and welcomed 2011 watching the Space Needle fireworks from Seattle.

Pat and I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year. 

      

Photo: Santa trying his luck in Cameron Lake following his annual Christmas Eve marathon.

Photo: Our Teen Choir Candlelight candle burns brightly on New Year’s Eve before being boxed for another year. After our last Candlelight Concert 12 years ago, some of our choir parents melted down all the candle stubs that had been saved and left over from rehearsal use. The melt was molded into a huge candle which we continue to light each Christmas.