Holiday shows heat up the Boardwalk and beyond.
ATLANTIC CITY — During the past few years, critics of the Atlantic City casino scene have often sited a lack of family-style activities as one of the knocks against the town. That particular complaint melts away like freshly fallen snow when the holiday season rolls around every year. And, while there might not be quite as many holiday-themed shows this year, there is one top shelf example of the genre in town, as well as a couple of headliner concerts and a trio of shows that are dressing up their productions in holiday garb.
Beyond the casinos, the region is providing a delightful selection of holiday concerts, including a quartet of shows at Stockton College and a Hanukkah show at the JCC.
The top shelf holiday show over at the Tropicana is Spirit of Christmas from producer David King. Spirit of Christmas illustrates that rare time when the tired old cliché, “Back by popular demand” goes beyond hyperbole to become the honest truth. The show, which has been in town several times in the past, is a lovely production featuring fine singers and dancers, beautiful sets (including a rolling chair covered in lights) and jazzy costumes. If you eliminate the teenagers who would never admit to liking holiday tunes, Spirit of Christmas is an all ages extravaganza.
A two-tiered set presents a street scene from small town America, decked out for the holidays. From the beginning of the evening, with a medley of classic holiday songs (“Happy Holidays,” “Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” “Wonderful Time of the Year” and “Need a Little Christmas)” complete with a jolly Santa Claus, a skating snowman and a high-steppin’ chorus line, Spirit of Christmas will get you in the mood.
“In The Mood” is done in the spirit of the Andrews Sisters with the singers dressed in service uniforms. There is just a hint of naughty when Santa Claus provides a lap for a high-skirted dancer, and another amusing number presents the female dancers wearing holiday boxes instead of clothing.
In the evening’s official showstopper number, the dancers joined by Santa Claus present a delightful hand-jive number sitting on the apron of the stage. The rhythmic clapping is enchanting.
Over at Resorts, Cirque Risqué and Cirque Polynesian have added the word “holiday” to their shows which translates into a few holiday costumes, a Christmas tree, a Santa Claus sighting and a couple of holiday songs including “Mele Kalikimaka” (Hawaiian Christmas song). The shows already provided solid entertainment with their entertaining mix of contortionists, tumblers, aerialists, fire dancers and striptease artists (only in Cirque Risqué naturally). Emcee, comedian and cirque artist Rudi brings it all together as the amusing host of both shows, with the “naughty” portion reserved for adults only in Cirque Risqué.
Bally’s chimes in with a new version of Legends in Concert that will also add the holiday decorations to a show featuring top tribute artists including nods to Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, Dolly Parton, Celine Dion and Neil Diamond. And let’s not forget that jolly fat man Elvis.
It’s that time of year when we are joyous about having days off, but at the same time dreading the almost forced family time. Most of us would love to take a holiday vacation, get away from our daily routines and experience new sights and cultures, but during this time of year we are stuck in holiday-related traffic and stressing out about superficial things. Don’t lose sight of the fact that although it’s tough to get along with everyone, especially the odd family members that you just can’t relate to no matter what you do, that you are spending time together because deep down it is a “ritual of reassurance,”...
“I think for a lot of people it’s like a kickoff to the holiday season, and an event people enjoy going to see each year,” says the A.C. Ballet's Phyllis Papa, who employs 22 professional dancers in the production, many of whom come from, and were formally ballet trained in, other countries.
For Phyllis Papa, artistic director of the Atlantic Ballet, the company’s annual production of The Nutcracker, to be performed at the Stockton Performing Arts Center Friday and Saturday (Dec. 11-12), is both a time of happiness, and just a little sadness.
It’s surely a sign of the season — and the economy. Casino showrooms are ramping up for the holidays, but this year — just as last — there are fewer holiday shows from which to choose. And for the second consecutive year casino guests will have to get their Nutcracker fix elsewhere.
WHO WOULD HAVE guessed that The Nutcracker ballet would become a beloved holiday tradition more than 100 years after its original performance? Even famous Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky probably had his doubts. Tchaikovsky wrote the score for the ballet, which is based on an adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffman's story of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The first production of The Nutcracker in St. Petersburg, Russia on December 17, 1892 was panned by the critics and the audience. However, later productions were greeted with favor. When the Moscow Ballet brings its critically acclaimed Great Russian Nutcracker to the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa for two shows on Saturday, Dec. 11, it will mark the first time that the casino offers entertainment that is sure to delight family members of all ages. "I thought it was a good time of the year to do something like this," says Larry Mullin, Borgata executive vice president and chief operating officer. "And it's received a tremendous response. Tickets are reasonably priced and they're going very fast." Mullin says that Ron Hudson, Borgata director of entertainment, expressed the idea of bringing The Nutcracker to the Borgata. "I was very familiar with the show, and knew...
In the world of gaming, ups and downs are part of the enticement. One moment you are down to your last dollar, the next minute you hit it big. That equation can apply to a casino property as well. Tropicana Casino and Resort, celebrating its 30th anniversary in Atlantic City this month, has demonstrated that the roll of the dice can be both favorable and unfavorable over the course of decades
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1. elaine fitzgerald said... on Nov 24, 2011 at 10:12AM
“best xmas show i ever seen”