| IF YOU GO |
| National Symphony Orchestra Pops Happy Holidays! |
| Where: Kennedy Center Concert Hall |
| When: Thursday-Sunday (check website for specific show times) |
| Info: $20 to $85; 202-467-4600; kennedy-center.org |
You would think a composer of Marvin Hamlisch’s status — with three Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys, a Tony and three Golden Globe awards, each with his name etched on the base — could, or would sit back at the holiday season and rest on the laurels of the musical ghosts of Christmases past. But he doesn’t. Nor does he possess an obsessive need to top the caliber of every spectacular that has come before the current offering.
Still, his 2010 “Happy Holidays” Pops extravaganza, with performances Thursday through Sunday, is very personal to him.
“For me, [a holiday show] is always a chance to reinvent,” Hamlisch said. “We are featuring the normal ‘White Christmas,’ Santa Claus and a choir, but what we are also doing this year is putting [students] into the show to highlight how much talent there is in Washington and how necessary the arts are for these young people.”
And so, in addition to featuring the National Symphony Orchestra and the city choir of Washington, Hamlisch has chosen young soprano, Mikaela Schneider, flutist Niles Watson and cellist Kristina Winiarski — student soloists all.
Without beating his concerns to death, but rather addressing the government funding problems in a more subtle manner, Hamlisch, (the showman who music critic, Danu Poyner noted, “makes great theatre all by himself”) has a different modus operandi.
“We are running into a tremendous problem of the arts being driven out of the schools,” he said. “This is my way of saying, ‘don’t do it, don’t do it! Look at what you’ve got here and what you’re putting at risk.'”
While making a statement, however subtle, the main artistic concern with Hamlisch is the show itself. The first act will be aimed at the children, with music from “The Little Mermaid” and “Babes in Toyland.” “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town,” literally, as the jolly old man goes off into the audience, asking the children what they wish for Christmas.
Without giving away the entire program, it has always been standard fare to include an audience sing-along. “Silent Night” and the Irving Berlin classic, “White Christmas” are among the songs in this segment.
“It’s a family tradition,” Hamlisch said. “And there is nothing better to me than an event that has music.”
