New twist for ‘Gift of Music’
Published 3:23 pm Thursday, December 3, 2009
This year’s traditional Christmas Spectacular is taking the festivities to a high-tech level.
For the first time and as part of this season’s popular seasonal variety show “The Gift of Music,” Historic Everett Theatre will host a live Web cast competition based on the television show “America’s Got Talent.”
For this show, local teenagers will have a chance to sing and perform holiday music on the live Web cast during the “High School Holiday Music Competition.”
After each performance, the theater audience will vote along with those text voting out in cyberspace for their favorite performers. Then the winner of the teenage competition will be announced at the end of the evening performance and live over the Christmas Spectacular 2009 Web cast.
The winners will be determined 50 percent by judging and 50 percent by text voting. The teenage competition is being produced by Chris Clay, a New York Broadway performer who has appeared in 2,000 performances of the musical “42nd Street.” The judges will include Clay and ballroom dancers Erik Linder and Rickie Taylor, who were semifinalists on “America’s Got Talent.”
Teenage performers will vie for first-, second- and third-place money prizes along with a complimentary DVD of the Christmas show and an invitation to “ride the ducks of Seattle” for a tour of that city during the off season.
The teens’ performances will be in continuous play at www.achristmasspectacular.com.
Competitors will hail from high schools in Everett, Snohomish, Lake Stevens, Marysville, Edmonds, Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland and Issaquah.
These teenage performers join the cast of this year’s Christmas Spectacular, a variety show.
The show will present a combination of traditional Christmas songs such as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “Let it Snow,” to more patriotic music such as “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America,” and a piece called “What is the Cost of Freedom.”
This year the show will feature Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson, television personality Brian Tracey as master of ceremonies, Las Vegas pianist and songwriter Dehner Franks, horn player Jack Klitzman, Shelley Logan of the Snohomish County Choir, Carl Kelley of the Los Angeles Music Awards, performer Ksenia Popova, Richard Giles from the Everett High School Color Guard and members of the Imagine Children’s Museum Singers.
The show has also developed into an emotional salute to all those abroad as well as at home “that sacrifice their lives so that we can live our lives the way we choose,” Tracey said.
The performers will also highlight the health care workers who will serve in the new Providence Regional Medical Center Tower that will open in 2011, said Dr. Sanford Wright Jr., Dorothy Jayne Foundation president.
The goal of this show, produced by the Dorothy Jayne Foundation, is to support the Volunteers of America Food Bank.
Theresa Goffredo: 425-339-3424; goffredo@heraldnet.com.
“The Gift of Music”
4 and 8 p.m. Saturday at Historic Everett Theatre, 2911 Colby Ave., Everett. Tickets are $15 plus a donation of five nonperishable food items for the Volunteers of America. Call 425-258-6766.
A VOA truck will be parked in front of Historic Everett Theatre for those who wish to drop off food items. This year’s goal is to raise a ton of food.
