NoHo Arts Brings Pirates to the North Pole

Yo Ho Ho! A Pirate's Christmas
conceived, written and directed by James J. Mellon
music & lyrics by Scott DeTurk and James J. Mellon
NoHo Arts Center Ensemble
through December 23

Perhaps one of the best family Christmas shows returns this season to NoHo Arts Center: Yo Ho Ho! A Pirate's Christmas. It was my choice for Best Family Show in 2007.What puts it on top? It's light, frothy and fun, but most urgently it encourages the audience to interact with the actors throughout. Interaction is foremost in getting kids' attention. The pirates trample through the aisles, swing on ropes from the audience to the stage and never let us forget that they are pirates ... and naughty. The kids love it, and most of the big kids as well! Kudos to James J. Mellon for a theatrical staging of such bravado.

And the cast is terrific from stem to stern: Jonathan Zenz, on my year-end list of bests for this performance in 2007, as questionably stalwart Black-Eyed Johnny is boldly funny, as is Melanie Ewbank, also a best performance for 2007, as the brazen female lead Grainne. "It's Grainne, not Granny!" Other memorable pirates include Alex Holmes as the troupe's weakest link Winky, J. R. Mangels as Tusk, Joshua Sterling as Billy Goat. And let's not forget Petie the talking bird! Nora James/Danielle Soibelman share the role of Evie, the wee brave girl who longs to be a pirate. Congrats as well to Brad Blaisdell as Santa, Merilee Magnuson as Mrs. Claus, and Janet Fontaine and Gilmore Rizzo as Eve's parents, and every last one of the merry ensemble.

Songs by Scott DeTurk and James Mellon are up and bright, with vocal tug of war "Yo Ho Ho/Ho Ho Ho" and pretty ballad "Christmas Is All About Love" special favorites. Dove Huntley's set of the icy North Pole delights the eye as do Curtis Jackson's Christmasy costumes in various reds and greens, which prove colorfully commendable. The humor, of course, is inane, like the pirates defining Eve as an elf: "She lives in a tree and makes cookies." If only that were so! You can't say it lacks imagination!

This is a sweet, adorable show for kids of all ages, and when you go to see it, remember your childhood dreams, hopes and wishes. Imagination and fantasy are great big pluses during the Christmas season and Yo Ho Ho! has them in abundance. Yippee!