GMCLA Stretches Big This Christmas

The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles presented their annual holiday concert extravaganza at the Alex Theatre in Glendale on Saturday, December 19 @ 3pm and 8pm and again on Sunday, December 20 @ 3pm.

What you can always expect is something truly different, and this year was no exception. Entitled Nutcracker, a Choral Fantasy, this may not have been my absolute favorite, but it certainly bristled with warmth, joy and diversity. There's nothing wrong with a big stretch; it is good for a thriving company, but for a chorus, it amounts to something really special. We need not expect more than great singing, and we always get that - but with this staging, there was theatricality galore.

Traditional Christmas tunes like Jerry Herman's "We Need a Little Christmas", "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" Lynn Ahrens' and Alan Menken's gorgeous "A Place Called Home" and Polar Express' "Believe" were interspersed with Tchaikovsky's "Sugar Plum Fairy", "Waltz of the Flowers" "Trepak" and "Dance of the Toy Flutes". Director/choreographer Billy Rugh for the most part produced a smooth flow of scene changes that blended well with the choral tunes. There were tiny tots playing sheep (pictured), a lovely tap number, plenty of men in women's clothing, a seductively handsome Nutcracker doll, a nice bevy of naked upper body male ballet dancers - all done in the utmost of good taste with the superb sounding chorus surrounding.

Another feather in GMCLA's cap, this ambitious staging is one more happy memory in a treasure chest of sparkling holiday concerts.