8/7/2023
Performances and Artists
Broadway Star Melissa Errico to Deliver Holiday Hits and Stories on November 29
Stage-and-screen star Melissa Errico can always find humor in the holiday season.
While starring as Betty in the Broadway revival of “White Christmas,” for instance, she balanced nightly performances with changing diapers and playing Barbie backstage with her three children – all under 3 at the time.
“There’s a hilarious pictorial of me pushing strollers right into the theater,” remembers Errico, a Tony nominee. “My 2-and-a-half-year-old daughter had a multi-level Barbie dream house in my dressing room, so she could play while I worked. A joyous but exhausting time!”
Errico also enjoys amusing holiday fun facts, like how many famous Christmas songs were written by Jewish songwriters (such as “White Christmas” by Irving Berlin), and how numerous holiday tunes are often composed and recorded in the scorching height of summer.
“Did you know (composer) Robert Wells said he was so hot and sweaty he sat down in July, 1945 and wrote the opening lines (of ‘The Christmas Song’) ‘to cool myself off?’” she says.
“Performing with her superlative musical director, jazz pianist Tedd Firth, with whom Errico has a legendary musical chemistry, she will belt beloved holiday staples — including “White Christmas,” naturally — while interweaving stories and insights about the season.”
“Pure joy — that’s the high-pitched emotion I want to share with people,” Errico says of what audiences can expect. “But I always try to add some smart talk to my singing, so I want the joy to be heightened by laughter.”
Conquering Broadway, Film and Television
Hailed for her silvery vocals and sparkling personality, Errico has garnered rave reviews performing the most coveted roles on Broadway.
These include starring in “Les Misérables,” “My Fair Lady” and “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.”
Because these musicals stem from past generations, Errico notes, she took a fresh approach to her characters so they would resonate with modern audiences.
“Sometimes we have to reimagine the roles to emphasize the women’s agency and authority,” says Errico, who even penned a column for the New York Times on this topic. “Other times, it’s the purity of spirit you want to picture for the audience. I’m always trying to deepen every part I play, while still being true to the lighthearted spirit of the original musical.”
She also applies her versatility in Hollywood, with featured roles in hit films like “Frequency” with Dennis Quaid, “Life or Something Like It” with Angelina Jolie, and “Loverboy” directed by Kevin Bacon.
“Acting and singing for me are complementary activities,” Errico says. “When I sing, I’m always enacting a role, developing the character who would sing such a song. And when I’m acting, I always try to feel the part musically.”
Embracing the Whole Holiday Spirit
Errico sees the holiday season as multi-faceted, she says, and her upcoming show will reflect that.
“That’s why I’m calling this show ‘White Christmas and Other Colors,’” she says. “It’s an attempt to fill out the whole palette of Christmas feeling, all of the many red and green and golden tones.”
Her set list will range from happy to bittersweet, including chipper staples by greats such as Lerner and Loewe, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin, as well as parody seasonal songs and even the “beautiful, broken-hearted” Broadway song “Hard Candy Christmas,” she says.
“The holidays are the one time of year when people feel free to express their strongest emotions,” she says. “In our busy lives, we may not have time to stop and take stock of our emotions, and at the holidays we do. And what better thermometer of our hearts is there than music?”
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