“Vivian and Bill’s Christmas party!” From Bay Street Cabaret! celebrates the holidays | Theater | Savannah News, Events, Restaurants, Music

The Bay Street Cabaret celebrates the most wonderful time of the year with its all new immersive cabaret theater experience “Vivian & Bill’s Christmas Party!” It’s their very first Christmas show. The show will take place on Friday December 17 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday December 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bay Street Theater at Club One.

The show takes place in December 1960 and Vivian and Bill Collins throw their annual Christmas party. A tradition that brings together friends, family and neighbors for festive fun, frivolity, cocktails and, most importantly, music, as they will sing many popular holiday classics.

Vivian and Bill have invited their friends and family over to their home for Christmas. Their neighbors, Tom, Donna and Linda will be present. Bill’s boss Gary and his wife Janet. Viviane’s brother, Charles. Beverly is also in attendance, a young woman Vivian met at the beauty salon and thinks she would be great for Charles and the youngest party to the party is Vivian and Bill’s 9-year-old daughter Patty. Several intrigues unfold throughout the evening.

“There are all kinds of things going on on this show. We have these great characters, and we get a glimpse of a story. It’s just improvisation, so it’s not a scripted show, ”said show producer and director Rick Garman.

Garman is the writer of the Savannah series “Interitas” and the writer of more than two dozen films for the Hallmark Channel and other television networks. Erin Muller is in charge of the technical direction of the Christmas show.

In the two dozen movies Garman wrote for the Hallmark Channel, some of them were Christmas movies, but Garman says this show is not a Hallmark movie.

The show features a cast of artists who are no strangers to our Connect readers. Travis H. Coles, Richie Cook, Hannah Dodson, Justin P. Kent, Valerie America Lavelle, Gwen Leahy and Chris Stanley alongside three of the city’s popular drag queens Treyla Trash, Carman iCandy and Sallie Just Sallie, all of whom are broad – an array of resumes and vocals in Savannah and beyond.

“We have Treyla Trash (Trey Norris) as Vivian. We have Sallie Just Sallie (Daniel J. Hilton) playing Beverly, the woman she met at the beauty salon. Carmen iCandy (JoJo Ward) will play Patty, nine years old, so that should be fun, ”Garman said.

Twenty classic holiday songs including “Sleigh Ride”, “Let It Snow”, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, “Baby It’s Cold Outside”, “What Christmas Means to Me”, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas “Last Christmas”, “Santa Baby”, “All I Want For Christmas Is You”, “The Most Wonderful Time of Year”, and more will be played live.

Cabaret artist Trey Norris (Treyla Trash) said: “Most cabaret shows feature a person standing in front of a singing microphone, but this one is going to take it to the next level with a story, characters, costumes and 60s inspired decors, and some of the most beloved Christmas carols ever written What a great way to celebrate the holidays!

Some songs will have a twist to them. Like ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ which in 2018 was heavily scrutinized and banned from some radio stations, but Garman found a way to give the song a different take.

“This song was kind of canceled because it’s a scary song, but it’s still a classic Christmas song. How could that be done now that I thought, and if it was sung by two people who just hate themselves? I want people to think about it through that lens, ”Garman said.

Garman approached this show, like the others, with the spirit of creating a theatrical feeling that will put the audience in the moment of being immersed in the musical numbers.

“So whatever emotion the main character is going through at that point, we try to evoke it, we try to do a little more than just people on stage singing Christmas carols,” Garman said. .

Another part of this show being immersive is the transformation in December 1960. Just to put in perspective John Kennedy has just been elected president, Gun smoke and The Ed Sullivan Show were the most popular shows on television, and the movie psychopath was in theaters terrorizing people. The costumes, set, props, and the whole venue will set the audience in 1960. Even some of the performers will greet and chat with guests as they enter.

“We decorate the whole room. The entire room is Vivian’s living room, and everyone in the audience will be invited to attend the play, ”Garmen said.

Guests must be 21 years of age or older to participate. The theater space is on the second floor and can only be accessed by stairs; no elevator is available. Limited and reserved table seats are available for $ 30 per ticket, limited reserved box seats are available for $ 25 per ticket, and a general admission chair and cabaret stool seats are available for $ 20. Tickets can be purchased by visiting baystreetcabaret.com