It’s the holiday season and with the celebration comes cold weather, family get-togethers, presents and now, nights out to take in a show. Two theaters in the Capital District are preparing for opening night with their family-friendly holiday show.
Cohoes Music Hall is putting on a production of White Christmas. This play, based on the classic movie, is a first for this area.
`This was newly released and it’s a Capital Region premiere. It’s never been done here before,` said Jim Charles, artistic director at Cohoes Music Hall.
The show opened on Nov. 30 and runs until Sunday, Dec. 16, with shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. A special matinee showing is set for Saturday, Dec. 15, also at 3 p.m.
The show begins long before opening night though. Actors must be chosen, dates set and rehearsals begun. The process for this show began back in the summer months.
`Most of the people in this production were cast at the end of August, beginning of September. We started rehearsing the week before Thanksgiving,` Charles said.
The hard work of the cast makes the two-and-a-half week rehearsal time work for the productions of the theater.
`They rehearse from Tuesday to Sunday every week for about eight hours a day. They start at 2 in the afternoon and won’t leave here until 10 or so at night,` Charles said.
The Cohoes Music Hall is putting on a show that already is a classic; the movie that it is based from is a holiday favorite of many. But what about the shows that are less well-known, but still have that holiday magic?
Capital Repertory Theater has that covered with `Plaid Tidings.` This production is a holiday sequel to `Forever Plaid,` which took the stage at Cap Rep in 1999. The director of `Plaid Tidings,` Dale Sandish explained the story.
`Forever Plaid` is a show that appeared off-Broadway of four guys that form a harmony group in high school, on their way to their first big gig when they are killed in a car crash. God gives them their wish to come back and do their show,` Sandish said. `’Plaid Tidings’ picks up where that left off, with another mission for the boys in plaid, though they don’t know what it is.`
He offered tidbits about the story.
`We’re connected to a famous female crooner,` he said, but wouldn’t say who.
Not only does Sandish direct, he’s also one of those `boys in plaid` that star in the show.
`I play ‘Sparky’ in the show. He’s kind of the cut-up or class clown type of the group,` he said.
Though he did admit it is not an easy task.
`It’s a bit precarious sometimes,` he said. `I try to astral project myself into the audience to see what we’re doing on stage.`
Originally scheduled to run from Wednesday, Dec. 5 to Sunday, Dec. 23, large amounts of ticket sales have led the theater to extend the show to Dec. 30, with no fear that the holiday being over will slow the spirit.
`The extension is already in place and it is selling quite well,` said Alison McLean, director of marketing and communications for the Capital Repertory Theater.
`People are looking for things to do with their children after the holiday is over, between Christmas and New Year, and taking them to a show is a great way to spend time together.`
Cohoes Music Hall is located at 58 Remsen St. in Cohoes. For information or to purchase tickets, call 237-5858, or visit www.cohoesmusichall.com. Capital Repertory Theater is at 111 N. Pearl St. in Albany. For information, call 445-7469 or visit www.capitalrep.com. “
