Seattle Men's Chorus (SMC) borrows from the film classic Casablanca for their annual holiday extravaganza at Benaroya Hall. In Play it Again, Santa, Santa (not Sam) is at the piano and the out-of-the-way nightclub is much farther north - like at the North Pole! There will be eight Seattle concerts plus two outreach performances in Tacoma and Everett. For the first two Seattle concerts of their 34th season opener, SMC welcomes to the stage Tony award-winning pianist and vocalist Levi Kreis (tonight, Nov. 30 & Dec. 1 only) as the guest artist.
In 2005 Levi released his debut album and has since released five studio albums and performance recordings. In 2010 he received the Tony Award for "Best Featured Actor in a Musical" for his role as Jerry Lee Lewis in Broadway's Million Dollar Quartet (he also appeared in the pre-broadway production at Village Theatre in 2007 in the same role). Levi's powerful vocals and ability to 'tear through a gospel song,' along with SMC's fabulous musical style, mean that it may be hard to stay seated at this season's concert. With their unique blend of song, dance and campy comedy, SMC has carved its niche as Seattle's OTHER holiday tradition. As artistic director Dennis Coleman points out, "we try to bring three things to every holiday concert: a goose-bump, a laugh and a tear." Goose-bumps abound in act one with several richly harmonic a capella selections, both traditional and non-traditional pieces. Act two brings lots of laughs with the special "Santa set" and there will be a good dose of emotion as SMC celebrates the "gift of marriage equality in 2013." Expect holiday favorites like "O Little Town of Bethlehem," "We Need a Little Christmas," "Joy to the World," and "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town," and no concert would be complete without SMC's signature holiday piece, "Silent Night."Videos