Performers bring Christmas cheer to stage this weekend

This weekend Christmas cheer flows in a variety of creative ways, including song, dance and spoken word, as local talent takes to the WILLow LeaVes stage for the second annual Christmas Variety Show presented, in part, by The Actors’ Studio of Hope.

Performances will be offered at 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, says Naomi Fleetwood-Pyle, the show’s director and producer.

Nearly one dozen singers, dancers, comedians and even a ventriloquist, will perform during the two-hour show that is sure to bring smiles and warm fuzzies, Pyle says.

“This year’s show is bigger than last year’s,” she says. “For me the challenge is not a matter of finding the talent, it is limiting the talent because I have to make sure I can fit it all in the time allotted.”

The show offers the return of Lisa Barrett with her rendition of Patsy Cline with a Christmas twist, as well as Cori Brod and Pete Law who will give their season’s greetings improv style, Pyle says. There will also be new faces under the spotlight, including ventriloquist Dorothy Tanner and singer McKenna Hall, who recently performed at Indianapolis’ Circle of Lights Show.

Columbus resident Jan Tatlock will be offering her comedic take on the season with her standup performance.

A comedian for nearly 10 years, Tatlock says her inspiration for doing standup came to her as she maneuvered the ebbs and flows of life over the years.

And, she’s discovered, what better time to spread joy and laughter than during the holidays?

“I want to share a little Christmas spirit and make people laugh,” she says. “I came to see the value about how laughter heals. It is kind of fun to make people enjoy themselves and forget about life for a while.”

Although she is staying mum on the details, Pyle says she too will be offering a bit of comedic flare with her own take on an iconic skit by America’s favorite redhead, the late Lucille Ball.

Seymour resident Lisa Barrett is excited to bring Patsy Cline to the stage for the holiday season, but says she is saving Cline’s entrance for the second act.

“I am going to sing a couple of Christmas songs as myself,” she says. “Then I will be singing Patsy Cline, including ‘Sweet Dreams,’ ‘Crazy,’ and a few other favorites.”

As Barrett preps for her second variety show appearance, she says she can’t help but feel that this show’s flare is very reminiscent of television’s “The Carol Burnett Show,” which ran from 1967 to 1978.

Barrett says this show most certainly has a little something for everyone.

And she, too, is excited to share the stage with talent that hasn’t performed at WILLow LeaVes before.

“I hope people will really get into the Christmas spirit if they aren’t already,” she says. “We want to try to make people feel that cozy Christmas feeling.”

Following the final act of the show, Pyle says all the performers, including herself, will take to the stage and lead the audience in “Silent Night.”

“Christmas always gives everyone the warm fuzzies anyway,” Pyle says. “I just like to entertain people and have them leave feeling better than when they came. I want the audience to walk away feeling good about the Christmas spirit.”