HAPPY HOLIDAYS: WINTER CONCERT -- Rushford-peterson Middle School and High School Bands

A band concert featuring Middle School and High School bands.

6th Grade:

"Frosty the Snowman" -- J. Edmonson
"Jingle Bells" -- A. Balent
"Timpatico" -- J. Kinyon
"Brother Two" -- J. Kinyon

7th & 8th Grade:

"Torero!" -- M. Williams
"March Rock" -- C. Tyler
"Away in a Manger" -- A. Balent
"The First noel" -- L. Norred
"Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" -- C.P. Herfurth

High School Band:

"Christmas Declaration" -- Robert W. Smith
"A Jammin' Caribbean Christmas" -- arr. Chris Sharp
     "The Virgin Mary Has a Baby Boy"
     "Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabella"
     "Go, Tell It on the Mountain"
"White Christmas" -- arr. John Moss
"A Carol Triptych" -- Pierre La Plante
     "Silent Night"
     "We Three Kings"
     "Sing We Now (sic) of Christmas"

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An absolutely FANTASTIC concert!

As one would imagine, the bands got better with the years of experience.  The high school band absolutely wow-ed the crowd.

A KLINGON CHRISTMAS CAROL -- Commedia Beauregard

Director: Sasha Walloch
Playwright: Christopher O. Kidder & Sasha Walloch
Translators (to Klingon): Laura Thurston, Bill Hedrick, Chris Lipscombe & Christopher O. Kidder
Based on the book by Charles Dickens

This is the familiar Dickens story, with Scrooge a Klingon with no honor. The spirits visit him to show him the true Klingon way.

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It is possible that this is the nerdiest thing I've ever done. ...But perhaps not.

When I heard about this production and read some of the synopses, I was very intrigued, and so grabbed a friend who also happens to like theatre and Star Trek and off we went.

I knew we were in for a nerdy evening when we walked in to the theatre lobby and I saw the ticket-taker dressed as if he'd just come from a Star Trek (TNG) convention. The ushers were also dressed in their full Klingon (also TNG) regalia (one as a Star Fleet officer and one as a Klingon warrior).

My over-all impression of the show is: I like the idea. I like the performances. But it felt like a skit that was being performed at a Star Trek convention (yes, I've been to more than one).

With a running time that barely reached an hour (and yes, there was an intermission half way through), it could easily have been done in one sitting. It definitely relied on a prior knowledge of A Christmas Carol (but who doesn't have that?).

The performances were quite good. Michael Ooms as SQuja' was occasionally a bit over the top, but generally quite likeable. Brian Watson-Jones as vreD was delightful, and of course, how can you go wrong with any show that includes an Orion Woman?

What I didn't enjoy about the show was the inside jokes. Those little comments tossed in to get a laugh or snort from the dedicated Star Trek fans. I am likely to chuckle as much as the next Trekker, but I did feel that rather than adding to the show, it brought it down a notch -- hence the feeling that it was a skit rather than a play. A 'for-instance' would be the Vulcan commenting on the production and saying a word in Klingon and then having that word translated on the screen and we find that it means "red shirt" ... which of course gets a laugh from the Trekkers because we know that it means someone is doomed. But was it necessary? Did it further the story? No.

I liked the idea of the Vulcan narrator and that the performance was being put on by a troupe of Klingon actors. Certainly it didn't need this, but it seemed like a nice touch to creating a reality. But I go back to the 'jokes' then that took the 'reality' of the piece away.

If I were to see it again, I would hope that they have the opportunity to expand on the story. Treat it like a real work of literature, rather than a Star Trek quirk (pun intended).

My favorite parts of the show ... the beaming effect, and the fact that the Ghost of Klingon Christmas Past was dressed as the old style Klingon (from the Original Series -- pre head-ridge).

Bottom line. I'm glad I went, but I'd like to see it become something more.