A Concert and a Cool Christmas Gift

There were a couple of good stories in today's edition of the Herald-Dispatch of interest to theatre fans.

- My pal Dave Lavender wrote an article about Saturday's Huntington Symphony concert at the Keith-Albee. You can read it here, and here's an excerpt:

This holiday Kimo Furumoto is running on an equal fuel blend of holly and jolly.

Come Saturday, Dec. 19, maestro Furumoto and the Huntington Symphony Orchestra will spread musical Christmas cheer in the historic Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center as they present the orchestra's Holiday Spectacular at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $18 to $31.

Furumoto said the orchestra is excited to share the holidays with many of the vocalists who've been featured with the symphony in years past including Randall Reid-Smith, Marina Jurica, Ryan Hardiman, the Ironton Varsity Singers, as well as Furumoto's wife, Linda Leyrer.

"We have had so many different singers over the years like Marina and Ryan and Randall Reid-Smith, and now we are bringing them all together and really celebrating all of these wonderful songs we love to hear, both the traditional ones and the ones that are yearly favorites this time of year. We really picked things that would be great for the different singers. They are all unique in their own way and I am really hoping to shine a light on what their niche in singing really is. Having all four of them we are having each of them with their own moment of glory in the program, so we're excited to hear all of them."

Just a few of the selections include Reid-Smith, the celebrated tenor singing, "O' Holy Night," the Ironton Varsity Singers on "Joy to the World," Leyrer singing "Gesu Bambino," by Pietro Yon, Hardiman singing "O Little Town of Bethlehem," and Jurica singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

To purchase tickets, call 304-781-8343, or stop by the HSO administrative offices at 763 3rd Ave., or www.huntingtonsymphony.org.

- If you're looking for the perfect holiday gift, the Marshall Artists Series has a great suggestion:

The Holiday season is here so give the gift that will last a lifetime: the gift of the arts!

Great tickets are still available for all Marshall Artists Series performances. Kicking off the season Feb. 8 and 9 at 7:30 p.m. at the Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center. Cabell Huntington Hospital brings you Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS. Based on T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, and with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, CATS won seven 1983 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Lighting and Best Costumes. There’s no better way to introduce your family to the wonders of live theatre than with the magic, the mystery, the memory of CATS!

Then on Feb. 23, at 8 p.m. spend An Evening with Lucille Ball in Thank You For Asking at the Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center. Join Lucy as she guides us through a lifetime of personal memories inspiring her timeless sketches on I Love Lucy, her 30-year television career and never-before heard personal recollections about her tempestuous and complicated marriage to Cuban bandleader turned impresario, Desi Arnaz. It’s the Lucy the whole world loved – from "Ricardo" to "Mame" – but, more importantly, it’s an evening with the REAL Lucy, as you’ve never seen her before. Produced by Lucie Arnaz.

St. Mary’s Medical Center and HIMG bring Mozart’s masterpiece Don Giovanni, live with a 30-piece world-class orchestra to the Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center on March 15 at 8 p.m. Hailed by many as the greatest of all operas, Mozart's Don Giovanni is based on the true-life escapades of Don Juan of Seville, an aristocratic lothario who lived during the 1600s. The full-scale production features beautiful sets and costumes and a cast of soloists who are excellent actors as well as first-class singers.

Closing out the season, Beford Auto presents Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance April 22, at 7:30 p.m. at the Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center. Described by the New York Post as "fascinating, rewarding and above all, entertaining," and by the Los Angeles Times as "a showpiece extravaganza," Lord of the Dance is a mesmerizing blend of traditional and modern Celtic music and dance. The story is based upon mythical Irish folklore as Don Dorcha, Lord of Darkness, challenges the ethereal lord of light, the Lord of the Dance. Battle lines are drawn, passions ignite and a love story fueled by the dramatic leaps and turns of dancers’ bodies begins to build against a backdrop of Celtic rhythm. The action is played out over 21 scenes on a grand scale of precision dancing, dramatic music, colorful costumes and state-of-the-art staging and lighting.

It’s not too late. Still looking for that perfect gift they’ll remember for a lifetime? The Marshall Artists Series has your ticket. Tickets for all shows are on sale now, and may be purchased at The Marshall Artists Series Box Office, located in the Joan C. Edwards Playhouse, open Monday — Friday, noon — 5 p.m. Or call the Box Office at 304-696-6656, or 304-523-5757. Adults tickets range from $45-$55 and Youth may receive a 20 percent discount. Tickets can be purchased on-line at www.marshallartistsseries.org, or www.ticketmaster.com.