Marilyn Lester***For the 100th anniversary of Christmas! Christmas! Christmas!, the delightful Karen Mason and company pulled out all the stops. The multi, multi award-winning actress and vocal diva was having a wailing good time with this
show and so were her side men. Christopher Denny, music director-pianist, usually seriously concentrating on the music was loose and relaxed, while bassist Tom Hubbard was also especially cheery. They were having a great time and so were we.
Of course, this show was not actually the 100th iteration of Christmas! Christmas! Christmas!, but was a joke that Mason herself cracked when letting us know it’s been a holiday tradition for many, many years. And naturally, director Barry Kleinbort was in on the fun too. His special lyric for “Seasons of Love” (Jonathan Larson) played on the passing of much, much time. But first, Mason opened with “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” (J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie), a “parental guidance required” version, jazzy and suggestively coquettish. As much as Mason can be dramatic and theatrical in getting to
the heart of song interpretation with depth, she also has a delicious flair for comedy, and, you bet, her timing is impeccable.
Because cabaret shows usually, stylistically include some measure of narrative or thematic thread, Mason spoke of tradition—this show is certainly one. And because of the current state of the world, war-torn, chaotic and problematic, moods shifted between acknowledging that to optimistic determination to celebration. Hence, tunes such as “We Need a Little Christmas” (Jerry Herman), “What the World Needs Now Is Love” (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) and “If I Ruled the World” (Leslie Bricusse, Cyril Ornadel) were included. And on the other side of the coin, the purely joyous “The Christmas Waltz” (Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn) was performed with spirit. Also included was the tune that seems to be as secularly de rigueur in Christmas concerts as “Silent Night” is in church services (and yes, Mason did include that in a very moving version)— “The Christmas Song” (Robert Wells, Mel Tormé). We have come to depend on chestnuts roasting on an open fire at this time of year, so it seems. 
In 1934 Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith wrote “Winter Wonderland” about a couple’s romance during the winter season. In July 1945 in Hollywood, Styne and Cahn wrote “Let It Snow” during a heat wave, with the pair musically fantasizing and imagining cooler conditions. Neither of these songs were intended to be Christmas numbers, but they’ve since been folded into the Yuletide mix. Mason’s jazz interpretation on the former featured excellent phrasing. A few more tunes outside the Holiday gift box were performed, including an uptempo “Taking a Chance on Love” (Vernon Duke, John Latouche, Ted Fetter).
Since tradition was thematic in Christmas! Christmas! Christmas!, the traditional “Joy to the W
orld” was offered in duet with Denny, in a stunning arrangement that interwove the carol with Joni Mitchell’s “River,” a song set at Christmastime. Another traditional carol received a creative arrangement. “We Three Kings,” with Denny providing vocals, became a story song that ended with an uplift of hope and promise.
Modern Christmas music has the possibility of setting new traditions. Certainly this tune has in the Mason-Rolnick household—”Merry Christmas Cheer” by Rolnick and Peter Bliss was sung, along with Shelly Markham’s “The Sweetest of Nights and the Finest of Days.” Ending with “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” (Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane), Mason perfectly summed up the overall mood of the show embodied in that number: in a hugely imperfect and anxiety-provoking world situation, rising above is paramount.
In an especially inspired Christmas! Christmas! Christmas! the emotional journey was a beautiful holiday sleigh ride through a magical evening of humor, warmth and reflection. Can the 101st performance of Christmas! Christmas! Christmas! come too soon?
Photos by Maryann Lopinto
