VIDEO: BWW's 12 Days of Christmas with Guest Editor Richard Jay-Alexander; Day 11 - Michael Crawford!

BroadwayWorld.com is, once again, celebrating the Holiday Season with a special 'countdown' which will reveal some favorite holiday-themed performances! For the 5th Anniversary of this Exclusive Feature, we've invited director/producer Richard Jay-Alexander to be our first-ever Guest Editor, to share with us HIS holiday favorites. His list will be composed of holiday songs and boasting performances with artists we know and love from Broadway and beyond. We'll bet that this countdown will surely get you into the holiday spirit, as the big day rolls around on December 25th, but we won't forget Chanukkah and Kwanzaa either. This is sure to be a 'Must Check-In Daily' event to see what's on RJA's list, while we wish you Happy Holidays from all of us at BroadwayWorld.com!

Welcome to Day #11 of BroadwayWorld's 12 Days of Christmas holiday "videos" feature.

Your responses have been overwhelming, which has also made it challenging to search for unique entries to share with you. We're in "the homestretch" but Rob Diamond and I were talking and decided to schedule TWO extras - One for Christmas Day and another for December 26, which is KWANZAA .... so be sure to "check-in" during your Holiday celebrations for those 2 extras.

While Rob and I were talking, we started chatting about the year in theatre and in life and BroadwayWorld.com's 10th Year in business and how it all began with his Dad taking him to see THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, and how it led him down the path of becoming a fan of Michael Crawford. There's a story in there, that you may or may not know, but, it's a pretty safe bet that if that "theatrical moment" hadn't occurred, this website might not be in existence. So ... today, I offer you MICHAEL CRAWFORD singing one of the most beloved traditional and holy songs of the season.

The reason I'm choosing this is because Michael is spending his Holiday in New Zealand and it will be Christmas Eve THERE, before HERE.

Michael recorded this song on two albums. The first, in 1993, for DAVID FOSTER The Christmas Album, which was on the INTERSCOPE label. Then in 1999, when he was signed to ATLANTIC RECORDS, he recorded his own holiday album, entitled MICHAEL CRAWFORD A Christmas Album.

Michael Crawford can be described as a true International Star and, although enormous fame came to him from THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, his early career achievements are where he really built his skills and notoriety, particularly in the UK. All you have to do is troll around YOUTUBE to see some amazing clips from television and film and, of course, he played Cornelius Hackl in the film version of HELLO, DOLLY! with Barbra Streisand.

So, with a tip of the hat to Crawford, himself, in New Zealand, and dedicating this to Rob Diamond and all the BroadwayWorld Fans ... I give you a FAN-MADE (glenh75, wherever you are!) compilation of "O Holy Night" and sending warm Holiday Wishes to all all of you.