It's November. Holiday decorations are all over the place already. They started going up just before Halloween. In a major chain department store earlier this week I saw a Christmas section had popped-up right next to the Haloween decor. Weird. I don't think I ever remember seeing the holidays owing quite that early . . .
And the holiday shows start ramping-up over the course of this month as well. One of those locations that tends to get kind of overlooked as a performance vent is the Brumder Mansion. The cozy bed and breakfast is a gorgeous place with all the warmth that one might be looking for out of the romanticized traditional American holidays . . . and sure enough, they've got a couple of shows coming up.
A Christmas Carol needs no introduction. Evidently it's being performed at the Brumder by Jim Iaquinta and Lori Minetti November 22nd - 30th.
Home For Christmas might need some description, though . . . Mickey Rooney starred in a TV movie bearing that name in 1990, but that's not what's being staged here. The website describes it like this:
" Celebrate the Christmas of yesteryear, with old-fashioned songs and fun. "Home For Christmas" is a Yuletide treat for the whole family you won't want to miss! "
Okay . . nice and everything, but what's it actually about?
Well, playwright Liz Shipe sent me a much more detailed description. Here it is:
" The show is set in 1947 right after WWII and centers around the Wallace Family. Herb and Birdie Wallace are both overjoyed that both their sons Fred and Howie have come home safe and it is the first year since the war started that they're able to have their annual Christmas party at the Inn the family owns. Howie Wallace's (MARK PUCHINSKY) new wife Clara (AMANDA J. HULL) is excited to have her sister, Vera, join them for the party. Everyone is in the Christmas spirit... except for Fred (JOHN GLOWACKI). Howie Wallace's new wife Clara is excited to have her sister, Vera, join them for the party. Everyone is in the Christmas spirit... except for Fred. The war has left him a changed man, and to make matters worse Birdie and Clara have invited Fred's ex-fiancee, Trudy, (LIZ SHIPE) over for the Holidays. No one knows what ended Fred and Trudy's engagement, but the Wallaces are determined to find out and hopefully get the pair back together again. Like any family get-together there is singing, laughter, a few misunderstandings, and a lot of heart. "
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In addition to casting mentioned above, Birdie is played by Marcee Doherty-Elst with Tom Marks as Pappy. A number of people here had previously appeared in Shipe's Sherlock Holmes trilogy at the Brumder as well, so there's going to be a sense of family about the cast as well which should add to the warmth of the production.
Also worth looking forward to here: piano man Brian Myers is working on original music for the show. So it's a new show written to be like something of a Norman Rockwell painting. a perfect match specifically tailored to the space at the Brumder.
Home For Christmas runs December 12th through 22nd at the Brumder. For more information, visit Milwaukee Entertainment Group online.
