Todd Sherry and Heather Olt spread a heavy helping of holiday cheer in a well-written, well-paced and well-performed Christmas show that sparkled with great singing, terrific staging and pinpoint patter from a couple of very talented performers who carried it all off as if they were a veteran comedy team.

Sherry is one of those people who, like Jason Graae, can make you laugh uproariously one moment, then choke back a tear the next.  There’s an impishness to everything he says or does and an edge in his voice somewhere between serious and comic that makes audiences laugh almost as soon as he opens his mouth, until he sings a heartfelt ballad like “The Christmas Shoes” (Eddie Carswell) that breaks your heart with the pathos he conveys and the tears in his eyes.

Olt, who seems capable of singing anything extremely well, also excels in the mood swing department — purring a sultry rendition of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” (Kim Gannon/Walter Kent/Buck Ram) that was absolutely stunning, squeezing every possible ounce of emotion out of the lyric, and then stumbling hilariously over the Hawaiian words in “Mele Kalikimaka” (Robert Alex Anderson) or singing at close to warp speed to squeeze in all the words on a very fast medley of “Happy Holidays” (Irving  Berlin), “Winter Wonderland” (Felix Bernard/Richard P. Smith) and “Sleigh Ride” (Leroy Anderson/Mitchell Parish).

The funniest moment of a very fast-moving 80-minute show was a recreation of the song “Sisters” (Irving Berlin) from the movie White Christmas, with Sherry and Olt duplicating the choreography right down to the fans.  It brought down the house.

Another highlight was their duet on “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” (Frank Loesser), with Olt — in high heels — towering over Sherry as he kept trying to leave the stage for a costume change.  The number included a few bars of soft shoe that added a special glow to the number.

Among other funny moments was Olt singing a very traditional version of “O Holy Night” (Adophe Adam) while Sherry stood at her shoulder intoning the words to “The Chipmunk Song” (Ross Bagdasarian) with great reverence (“Christmas” … thoughtful pause … “Christmas” … another deep pause … “time is here … ).

Sprinkled among the moments of on-stage merriment were three audience sing-alongs, with lyric sheets provided at the door: “Go Tell It on the Mountain”; “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” (John Frederick Coots/Haven Gillespie); and the finale, “A Holly Jolly Christmas” (Johnny Marks).

Providing musical accompaniment — and occasional patter that moved the show along — were Ron Snyder at the piano and Kevin Widener — described in the show as “the little drummer boy” — on drums.

Elliot Zwiebach
Cabaret Scenes
December 2, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org