Mad for a madrigal! Lavish CHS chorus dinner theatre brightens the holidays (with photo)
The Crestview High School multi-purpose room bustled Friday and Saturday night as guests were transported back a few centuries to the glittering Renaissance and an evening of holiday merry-making during the CHS Chorus’ Madrigal Dinner.
A royal crier announced each party of guests, who were then escorted by a candle-toting costumed hostess to one of the long banqueting tables. Surrounded by regal banners and prettily decorated tables, guests were astounded at the transformation of the room from a school cafeteria to a banqueting hall.
A host of suitably obsequious serving wenches and peasant lads made sure the guests were well plied with food and drink. Then, to the beat of drums, the Processional of the Royal Court brought the cast of singing players into the hall. There were a king and queen, lords and ladies, a scheming villain (appropriately attired in black, of course), an enchantress, a performing fool and some pretty funny guards and lackey thugs.
Part dinner theatre, part concert, the madrigal dinner was all entertainment. The skilled vocals of seasonal and Christmas music that filled the room were performed a cappella. Songs punctuated the different scenes of the performance, such as “Ring the Bells” and “Welcome Yule” for the processional, “Adoramus Te” for the blessing of the feast, and “O Tannenbaum” (sung, of course, in German) and “Deck the Halls” for the decorating of the “castle.”
Choral music director Kevin Lusk, clad, like his students, in his Renaissance finery, was seemingly everywhere at once, particularly when, between dinner courses, the servants took a break and performed carols in small groups throughout the hall. Once Lusk would get one group singing, he’d scurry across the room to the next and have them cued up as the previous group finished.
Between musical interludes and the multiple courses of sumptuous cuisine that included barley potage, wild rice and Italian beans, the theatre portion unfolded in several acts filled with light, enjoyable silliness.
The basic plot involved a scheming lord, played with gusto by Kody Lusk, seeking to unseat the king, regally portrayed by Jarick Rivers. With the aid of the perfectly cast jester, Edgar Acevedo, and the enchantress Morgan Wherechild (“Where child?” “There child!”), played delightfully by Sarah Brown, there was some wonderful tomfoolery, a few pratfalls (one of which during Friday’s performance was completely unintentional), and, when the king and the jester swap roles, some delicious groaners as his majesty made a vain attempt at relating jokes.
While the chorus proved both its singing and acting prowess, there was another large cast that performed an integral part of the evening completely behind the scenes. Students from the CHS culinary arts program, under the able instruction of Paula Knight, prepared a memorable feast from the barley soup to a laudable bread pudding. The juicy, fall-off-the-bone tender herb-roasted Cornish hen was deserving of an ovation in itself.
Once the king was back on his throne and the villain was suitably chagrined, the evening concluded with a joyous “Royal Concert” of traditional holiday favorites, including lovely renditions of “Caroling, Caroling,” “The Coventry Carol,” “Pat-a-Pan” and “Fum, Fum Fum.”
As the chorus exited the room to “Silent Night” (in both the original German and English), the audience was invited to join in, bringing to a close a well-performed, thoroughly enjoyable night of holiday feasting and entertainment. Another dazzling ornament was thus added to our local tree of Christmas entertainment.
