This December, the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular will dazzle and delight area families for the seventh year in a row.
This year’s singing and dancing extravaganza includes a Queen tribute, a James Bond medley and a Sound of Music medley, Michael Bublé songs, a nostalgia tribute as well as many more classical hits and Christmas favourites.
When it comes to choosing the musical features each year, show creator Katy Bowen-Roberts, who grew up in Ladysmith, explains she has a program plan every year, and she has sets in which she tries to fit in songs of a similar idea.
“Where last year I had a Tom Jones act and I tried to have a flashy first-act ending, this year, I’m doing Queen,” she explained.
Bowen-Roberts chooses the music, and her music arranger, James Mark, arranges it for the band and four singers.
Bowen-Roberts and Mark have been working together since the beginning, and they actually went to elementary school together.
This year, the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular will be performed at the Port Theatre for the first time.
“We tried it last year at the Sid Williams Theatre in Courtenay, and it seemed to work well with the bigger audience,” said Bowen-Roberts, who produces the show as a real family affair, with her husband and her parents. “So we’re trying it at the Port this year. We think it will give audience members a chance to see it in different forms; it will probably seem like a different show each time.”
Bowen-Roberts has been working a lot with James on the music, and she says she’s really excited to see it performed on stage.
“The music’s really interesting, and there are so many different parts,” she said. “Breaking it down, you learn what is involved in the music. I’m excited to see how it comes across and see the intricate parts come together.”
Bowen-Roberts says this year, she éis also particularly excited about trying the show at the Port Theatre for the first time and about the costumes, which she chose during a trip to London, England, this summer.
“We have an exciting new cast, lots of new faces,” she added. “We have very talented dancers from Vancouver, and our singers are from across Canada. It’s always a pleasure to work with the band, who have been with us for seven years. We look forward to getting the show on the stage and hope groups and families get together again to celebrate live theatre.”
Bowen-Roberts says it’s “amazing” how fast the time has gone, as the Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular celebrates its seventh year.
“It’s evolved, and the support from the community has been amazing,” she added. “Surprisingly, in 2007 when we started, we did have 2,000 people come and see the show. Last year, we had 4,600. This year, we’ve already sold 3,000 tickets. It’s neat to see people are making it a tradition. I can see the formula has really worked for creating that tradition on the Island.”
The Yellowpoint Christmas Spectacular runs Dec. 6-21. Ten performances are slated on the calendar at the Cedar Community Hall and the show is also booked at the Port Theatre in Nanaimo for three performances and at the Sid Williams Theatre in Courteay for two performances.
The four matinée performances at the Cedar Community Hall are already sold out, and Bowen-Roberts recommends that people get their tickets early so they aren’t disappointed.
To book your tickets for the Cedar or Nanaimo shows, call 250-754-8550 or click here.
For more information about the show, click here.