A NOT SO SILENT NIGHT to Retire with December Performance at First Unity

On Friday, December 2nd at 8pm, A NOT SO SILENT NIGHT, the holiday musical program written and performed annually by St. Petersburg natives Becca McCoy and James Weaver, will have its final performance before being retired, hosted by First Unity Spiritual Campus in St. Petersburg.

A NOT SO SILENT NIGHT is a one-hour program combining holiday musical classics and contemporary favorites with the original music and reimagined traditional carols found on Becca and James' album of the same title, and interwoven with excerpts from beloved holiday literature into a fluid and seamless show. The new arrangements of traditional carols, such as the title track (a medley of four songs, bookended by Becca's "firm mezzo" (Elkhart Truth) and "larger-than-life voice" (Goshen News) and featuring James' dense, Baroque-inspired compositions and playing style), along with the juxtaposition of the elements of the show, allows the audience to hear these beloved and familiar songs as if for the first time (full program repertoire below).

"Bringing this show to life each year has been such a joy - like revisiting an old friend. We crafted the program we wanted and told the story we wanted, and are looking forward to challenging ourselves to create something new," says singer Becca McCoy of the decision to retire the show. "First Unity's recent upgrades to the sanctuary provide a stunning environment for the show that is both sacred and theatrical, and we are thrilled to return there for the third year in a row." See highlights from the presentation of A NOT SO SILENT NIGHT at First Unity in 2015 HERE.

Becca and James recorded their album A NOT SO SILENT NIGHT in 2011, and have sold nearly a thousand copies since its release. The live show has been presented at The Palladium Side Door, Pro Star Recording Studio (host of the album release party), the Morean Arts Center, First Unity Spiritual Campus, New American Theatre, and American Stage, among others. The 2011 production was named a Top Three Music Pick by John Fleming of the Tampa Bay Times, and Becca and James have been featured on the syndicated morning show Daytime three times in conjunction with the album and show.

A NOT SO SILENT NIGHT 2016 Program Repertoire:

• Overture (instrumental, written by James Weaver)
• Happy Holidays / Christmas Waltz
• In the Bleak Midwinter (written by James Weaver, lyrics from traditional)
• I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
• Happy Christmas, Little Friend

LIZABETHAN CHRISTMAS SEGMENT:

• Reading: "500 Points of Husbandry," poem by Thomas Tusser
• Medley: The Hamlet Nativity (written by James Weaver, lyrics from Shakespeare) / Greensleeves (arranged by Becca McCoy) / What Child is This (written by James Weaver, lyrics from traditional) / Coventry Carol (a cappella, arranged by Becca McCoy) / Heart of Gold (instrumental, written by James Weaver)
• PROVINCIAL CHRISTMAS SEGMENT:
  • Reading: A Child's Christmas in Wales, by Dylan Thomas (excerpt)
  • Bring a Torch, Jeannette Isabella (written by James Weaver, lyrics from traditional)
• It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

MEANING OF CHRISTMAS SEGMENT:

• Medley: Jingle Bells / River (Joni Mitchell) / Skating (Vince Guaraldi)
• Reading: A Charlie Brown Christmas (excerpt)
• Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
• "Five Decades of a Woman's Relationship with Santa" Medley (I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus / Santa Baby / The Man with the Bag - arranged by Becca McCoy)

NATIVITY CHRISTMAS SEGMENT:

• Reading: "Regrets," poem by William Wordsworth
• Medley: Jesus Was Born to Mary (written by James Weaver) / Ave Maria (a capella, arranged by Becca McCoy from Schubert) / Ages of Silence (written by James Weaver, lyrics from poem by Margaret Deland) / The First Noel (written by James Weaver, excerpt from the Gospel of Luke)
• Prayer of St. Francis / Let There Be Peace on Earth
• Aire to an Angel (instrumental, written by James Weaver)
• "A Not So Silent Night" Medley (Silent Night / Hark the Herald Angels Sing / Angels We Have Heard on High / How Can I Keep From Singing - written by James Weaver, arranged by Becca McCoy, lyrics from traditional)
• Joy to the World (written by James Weaver, lyrics from traditional)

About Becca McCoy

"Strong-voiced" (Chicago Sun-Times), "musical theatre force of nature" (Creative Loafing) Becca McCoy is a proud native of St. Petersburg, who now lives in Gulfport with her husband and daughter, and who has been seen on stages locally and nationwide. She is known to Tampa Bay audiences for her performance in the American Stage in the Park smash-hit SPAMALOT as The Lady of the Lake, for which she received a Theatre Tampa Bay Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical, and for DISENCHANTED! as Sleeping Beauty, performed for an extended run in the Jaeb Theatre at the Straz Center, for which she won the BroadwayWorld Tampa Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Becca has been seen nationwide performing the role of Brooke in MOTHERHOOD THE MUSICAL, and Earth Mother or Iowa Housewife in MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL. She has performed locally with A Simple Theatre, American Stage, and freeFall Theatre Company, and nationally at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre in Chicago, IL; The Wick Theatre in Boca Raton, FL; Merry-Go-Round Playhouse in Auburn, NY; Palm Beach Dramaworks in West Palm Beach, FL; and many more. She can be seen in the coming months in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: THE LIVE RADIO PLAY at American Stage and AS YOU LIKE IT in her Jobsite Theater debut. Becca was the recipient of the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance's inaugural MUSE People's Choice Award in 2014, and has been awarded in musical theatre nationally by Young Arts (formerly the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts), and the National Society of Arts and Letters. Learn more at BeccaMcCoy.com.

About James Weaver

James Weaver is a well-respected pianist, piano teacher, and composer in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is a teacher at Bringe Music Studio, where he began his journey in piano at the age of 9, as well as teaching private house call lessons and group piano classes at St. Petersburg College. He serves as the pianist for Blessed Sacrament Church, is an accomplished soloist and recording artist, and is an accompanist and frequent musical collaborator with performer Becca McCoy. His composition Rhapsody of Remembrance: Auschwitz premiered at Hillsborough Community College and went on to be choreographed by Nancy Smith for performances at the Palladium Theatre and St. Petersburg College. He has been awarded for musicianship by the Ruth Eckerd Hall PACT Scholarship Competition and the Phi Theta Kappa Music Competition, among others. His albums Velvet Rain, The Colors of Passion, and A Not So Silent Night are all available for purchase on CD Baby.

IF YOU GO:

A NOT SO SILENT NIGHT
Created and Performed by Becca McCoy and James Weaver
Friday, December 2nd, 2016 at 8:00pm
First Unity Spiritual Campus (In the Sanctuary)
460 46th Avenue North, St. Petersburg, FL
Tickets: $15
Tickets available in person at the door or in advance by phone at 727. 527. 2222, or online at www.firstunity.org/event/not-silent-night-concert.

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