Holly, jolly Follidays: Orchestra Iowa rolls out fa-la-la-la fun for the holidays

By Diana Nollen

It's Follies wrapped in holiday style.

Orchestra Iowa is ringing in a new tradition with “Follidays: Hooray for Holidays!” from Friday through Sunday at Coe College in Cedar Rapids. The new variety show rolls elements of the Follies and Holiday Pops past into a Christmas present on the Sinclair Auditorium stage.

“In the vein of a traditional Follies program, it will have singing, dancing, humor, some drama and a lot of big show numbers,” says Timothy Hankewich, Orchestra Iowa's music director. The cast will feature some familiar Follies faces, as well as Orchestra Iowa instrumentalists.

Follies organizers are playing key roles, including artistic and music director Damon Cole and producer Bette Eells, both of Cedar Rapids, and choreographer Michelle Philgreen of Manchester.

“They're the artistic drivers behind this,” says Hankewich, of Cedar Rapids.

And as with so many events the past 18 months, the flood of 2008 was a driving force behind this new event.

“A couple of things instigated this,” Hankewich says. “After the loss of the Paramount, there was a lot of concern that Follies was going to disappear. The solution we found for our traditional program was to seek out a theater that could handle such a production. That's why we went to Cedar Falls during the summer. That solution has been successful and will preserve Follies for the future.

“But there was also concern for the Cedar Rapids tradition going away,” he says. “We've made a conscious effort to make sure some sort of Follies performance would remain in Cedar Rapids.”

Hankewich also was eager to separate the sacred and secular aspects of previous Holiday Pops concerts, offering instead the new Celebration of Carols to showcase more serious works and Follidays, to highlight pop culture Christmases.

“When I was in Kansas City, we did a lot of Christmas programs and I always found it to be the most difficult to program,” Hankewich says. “Everybody has their own traditions and expectations of what holiday music is. Going from a sacred carol to secular - from ‘O Holy Night' to ‘Santa Baby' - is really hard. This way, we have a lot of Christmas music we haven't been able to explore in a long time. ...

“We're hoping Follidays will catch on as a tradition so every year it becomes bigger and bigger so by the time we can launch it in the Paramount, it will become a spectacular extravaganza,” Hankewich says.

The Coe stage is a bit smaller than the players are used to, but festive Follies-style backdrops and sparkling costumes are still part of the package.

Many tunes will be familiar, too, from “White Christmas” and “It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” to “My Favorite Things” and “Auld Lang Syne.” John Ryal of Cedar Rapids will reprise his hit from last year's Holiday Pops, the Hawaiian “Mele Kalikimaka,” the kids' chorus will offer up “Christmas Time is Here” from TV's “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and Follies favorites Tina Monroe of Marion, Lori Ferguson of Vinton and Philgreen will sing angelic harmonies Andrews Sisters-style. Santa will have a brand new bag, too, when Doug Jackson of Cedar Rapids steps into the sequined red suit.

Cole expects another highlight to be newcomer Nathan Cooper of Cedar Rapids singing “I'll be Home for Christmas.” “He has a beautiful voice - it's a nice new voice,” says Cole. He's also looking forward to some hot new twists on “Baby It's Cold Outside,” performed by Theatre Cedar Rapids veterans Amy Stoner and Zach Parker, both of Cedar Rapids.

The cast features eight kids and 16 adult ensemble members, most of whom auditioned for last summer's Follies at Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center in Cedar Falls.

“We let that be their audition for the whole year,” Cole says, adding that Follies will return to that venue next July, as well, for two weekends.

As with last summer's show, the holiday Follies will have ensemble members playing multiple roles, instead of having separate groups of singers, dancers and actors. Dennis Green of Cedar Rapids has once again penned the script for Follidays, with a ribbon of plot to tie up the whole package.

The storyline revolves around “a gentleman frustrated by the shopping season,” Hankewich says. “He has a fight with his wife, and throughout the rest of the program is reminiscing about Christmases past. That puts his current situation in perspective.”

Cole says he and the cast like the format, and feels audiences will, too.

“What I think is cool about this show at Christmas is the variety thing - a loose plot running through with a feel-good moment at the end,” Cole says. “Kenny Rogers did a variety show here a few years ago and people loved that. People love to hear stuff they know, even if it's done in a different way, at Christmas. Especially the nostalgia things. The whole second act is the '40s.

“Isn't that what Christmas is supposed to be about,” Cole says, “tradition, nostalgia, la, la la.”

FAST TAKE

What: Orchestra Iowa presents “Follidays: Hooray for Holidays!”

When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 18 and 19; 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20

Where: Sinclair Auditorium, Coe College, 1220 First Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids

Tickets: $14 to $39 at the Orchestra Iowa Ticket Office, (319) 366-8203 or 1-(800) 369-8863, and www.orchestraiowa.org