Jan-29--Just-the-Highlights--A-Virtual-Christmas

JOURNALING: This Christmas was like none other what with the Covid 19 pandemic in full swing. Normal holiday live theatrical performances (like “The Nutcracker” or “A Christmas Carol”) became “virtual”. I saw on-line that the Columbus Children’s Theatre was going to present a virtual production of an original musical based on Clement C. Moore’s classic poem, “Twas the Night Before Christmas”. So on Christmas Eve day, my sister and I sat in front of a computer screen and enjoyed this fun, surprisingly good, production.

A young boy, Henry, is anxious about the imminent arrival of Santa Claus and can’t stay asleep. His Dad can’t sleep either and is fretting about work during this difficult year. Suddenly Santa appears and informs them that they are on the “naughty list” this year. They still have a chance to turn things around if they perform 3 good deeds before midnight (hmmm….sounds like another Christmas classic, but I digress). Santa’s elves sing and dance and help the family achieve their goal while learning the true meaning of Christmas.

This production was quite an undertaking with most of the cast never in the same room together. They rehearsed via Zoom. Each scene was then filmed separately and spliced together. The Sugar Plum Fairy and the elves were filmed in front of a green screen and then added to the appropriate living room scene. All in all it was a sweet, fun production. This was the first time the Children’s Theatre had created a movie and it probably will not be the last production because of the teaching and learning experiences.


CREDITS: PHOTOS – program flyer and green screen photos from web; the remainder by me off the computer screen; KITS – “Down the Chimney”, Pink Reptile Designs; “Grunge Collection Brushes No. 3”, Paula Kesselring; “Christmas Stories”, Designed by Soco; FONT - hodgepodgery