Streaming Review: Hannah Waddingham Dons Her Jingle Bells & Lasso Pals For An Exciting Holiday Special HANNAH WADDINGHAM: HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

Welcome to another installment of Little Bobby’s thoughts on some streaming entertainment coming to you from the fab children at Apple TV+!  So jump in the stream with us, and let’s see if our rainbow lands on a pot of gold.

Well, this time 'round it was a gown of gold hugging the delicious Emmy-Winning curves of bombshell singing actress Hanna Waddingham, as she kicked off the holiday season with Hannah Waddingham: HOME FOR CHRISTMAS on Apple TV+.  Returning to the London Coliseum - the theatre where she, quite literally, grew up, since her mum was a mezzo-soprano in the English National Opera Chorus for something like 30+ years, Hannah opened with a walking tour of her old stomping grounds while singing her opening number (more on that in a sec). Hannah explained her connection to the historic performance hall and pointed out the box where young Hannah used to sit, watching her mum work, and where, on the night, her own 8-year-old daughter, Kitty, sat, carrying on this tradition (Kudos to momma Hannah for protecting her daughter by not letting the cameras film Kitty’s face).  Now, about that opening number… Her spritely rendition of WHAT CHRISTMAS MEANS TO ME, while strolling through the backstages, picking up her guest stars, set the tone for the fun everyone was going to have, either performing or watching this extravaganza. Truly, when you first see her all you can say is WOW! Her golden hair and that golden gown, with its specially-made pocket at the back for her mic pack, made her look like an ornament, especially each time she was in a straight-on shot in front of the ginormous Christmas tree upstage center. This was of course NOT her only gown of the night, as she changed a couple of times, each dress more beautiful than the last, and all with the costume supervisor’s (Vicky Gill) clever mic pack pocket at the back. Throughout the theatre, in the boxes, she also had placed her gaggle of gays - The Uber Gay  London Gay Men’s Chorus - who would join in with vocal support when called upon, as well as telling Hannah how great she looked. 

Whether she was clowning with her TED LASSO mates on THE MAN WITH THE BAG, or bringing her mum & dad to tears singing O HOLY NIGHT (with the aforementioned English National Opera Chorus) this Christmas special stayed on message, and on a fast track, giving all in attendance (and anyone who watches) a right fair kick in the Christmas balls in order to start the season of giving and getting. Along with the men of the TED LASSO company (and some backstage comedy with LASSO gal pal Juno Temple, of course), another guest was the American rising star Leslie Odom Jr., who came out and joined Hanna on stools for a simple PLEASE COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS in very sexy bluesy harmonizing vocals - just the two of them on stools having a blast singing together … GORGEOUS! A trio of guest stars was a surprise for little Bobby, as we had never heard of The Fabulous Lounge Swingers - husbands, Scott Baker and Patrick Davey - PLUS another LASSO pal, Jamie Tartt himself, Phil Dunster, who was a complete surprise singer on a jazzed up  HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS, with Phil goofing and being a cheeky monkey, and all just generally putting the number over, despite abandoning the CORRECT Judy Garland approved “Muddle through” lyric in favor of that “Hang a shining star” nonsense. But Phil also displayed some fine crooning pipes and the FLS boys were just as much tuneful fun as Hannah and her mate, and deserve some American prime time of their own - hopefully soon. 

Now a word about the dresses… Oh yes, there was more than just the stunning gold number… Oh, the wine-red velvet mini with sparkling accent sequins, and that train!! This, she wore to ROCK OUT with Eurovision’s Sam Ryder on RUN RUN RUDOLPH, and rock the house they did. Then, the sweeping white princess dress with ostrich feathers absolutely created a bit of old-world Hollywood glamor! This last bit of couture, she wore for her number with Luke Evans (OO LA LA) - the handsome leading man of all our dreams, my lambs, and here’s why - his talent, his face, and HIS VOICE. To have all his gifts, and to sing wonderfully too… it’s just not fair. Together the old pals who have known each other for over twenty years gave the audience as slick a Sleigh Bells as you could hope for. 

With all of this, her beauty, her glamor, her dresses, her stellar performance, just all the reasons to watch Hannah Waddingham, it is even more important to HEAR Hannah Waddingham. Whether she crooned gently, scatted expertly, reached for the sky with soaring legit soprano notes, rock-screamed into the stratosphere, it is her amazing vocals that have and will continue to burnish the star everyone knew she would become. Her incredibly versatile voice adapts song to song, style to style, and genre to genre, and its power is not to be believed. Whatever one may think are the gifts that make a great singer, Hannah has them all by the boatload, plus charm, humor, and a charisma that conveys her emotions and makes her audience feel as much as they see and hear. All of this makes her one of the most talented and engaging singing actresses on the stage and screen today. As you can tell by this love letter, Bobby is ALL about Hannah and if we gave a higher rating we would, but she gets our highest… and so we wholeheartedly award Hannah Waddingham: HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

5 Out Of 5 Rainbows

This one Is Well Worth The Apple TV+ Subscription & Can Be Streamed: HERE

You Can Read All The Credits For Hannah Waddingham: HOME FOR CHRISTMAS On Its Apple TV+ Page: HERE

More Credits & Pics Are Available On The IMDB Page: HERE

Learn About The Fabulous Lounge Swingers: HERE

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