[NoHo Arts District, CA] – OY! TO THE WORLD – Christmas With a Twist! returns to El Portal Theatre December 12 – 22 to celebrate your favorite Christmas songs all written by Jewish songwriters!Â
About the Show
There’s a rich history of Jewish composers and lyricists, from Irving Berlin to Mel Tormé, Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne to Johnny Marks – a lengthy list of Jewish songwriters became the denizens of Tin Pan Alley, who honed their musical skills in NYC, and went on to create hit songs that became our beloved holiday anthems.
OY! To the World ~ Christmas With a Twist! showcases these brilliant songwriters who helped shape the modern-day Christmas that everyone knows and celebrates. Each iconic tune captures the spirit of the Yuletide season. Featuring well-known hits that have become beloved Christmas standards like Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, I’ll Be Home for Christmas, Santa Baby, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Christmas Song, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch, Walkin’ In A Winter Wonderland, Sleigh Ride, Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree and many more!
In this new musical comedy, Shelly Abrams has inherited a shuttered Catskills lodge. He has high hopes of bringing it back with a big holiday show, like the ones his Grandparents used to stage. He has fond childhood memories of holiday celebrations at the lodge which mixed Hanukkah with other traditions. He gathers his three most talented friends from The Big Apple and an ageless accompanist that came with the place, and together they provide a mix of cultures to rekindle the spirit of the place with a show called Christmas With A Twist, seeking to recreate the warmth, love, and laughter that once filled the hall in its heyday.
The Cast
The show stars Sarah Uriarte Berry, Jay Brian Winnick, Cameron J Armstrong, Maya Sofia and Gerald Sternbach at the piano as Chris.
Sarah Uriarte Berry has starred in five Broadway shows and three Broadway National tours. She is perhaps most noted for creating the role of Franca in The Light in the Piazza for Lincoln Center Theater for which she received Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations. Other Broadway shows include as Belle in Disney’s Beauty and The Beast, Eponine in Les Miserables, Nicola in Taboo, and as Diana in Next To Normal. Los Angeles audiences will know her from her performance as Charlotte in A Little Night Music at the Pasadena Playhouse.
Jay Brian Winnick’s Broadway and National Tour credits include Sondheim’s The Frogs with Nathan Lane at Lincoln Center, LaFou in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and Rusty Charlie in Guys and Dolls, directed by Jerry Zaks. In Los Angeles he appeared as Mushnik in Little Shop of Horrors at 5 Star, Kromov in The Merry Widow at the LA Opera, and received Ovation Nominations for his Max Bialystock in The Producers at 3d Theatrical and Man #2 in Kiss Me Kate at Reprise!Â
Cameron J. Armstrong recently starred as H. Ford in the new musical The Civility of Albert Cashier at the Colony Theatre, a role he created in the Chicago production at Stage 773. He’s been seen on countless national commercials and has been featured in a few reality TV shows Boy Band and Ex on the Beach. Recent TV includes guest starring roles on The Goldbergs, Angie Tribeca, and recurring roles on The Rookie and season five of All American as Darius Marshall.
Maya Sofia recently appeared in Murder On the Orient Express at the Old Globe Theater. Other theater includes Estela and Vicky in the Latinx New Play Festival at the La Jolla Playhouse, Felicia in Star of Ocotillo at Onstage Playhouse, Mimi in Rent at San Diego Musical Theatre, and Anita in West Side Story at Teatro San Diego.
Oy! to the World is a 90-minute, no intermission, joyous musical comedy that the whole family will enjoy. It’s a walk down memory lane, with great Catskills humor and all the wonderful holiday music we know and love.
The Team
Directed by Maurice Godin
Choreographed by Jeffrey Polk
Musical Direction and Arrangements by Gerald Sternbach
Written by Gregory Thirloway and Maurice Godin
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