2012 Christmas Carol-It begins

I am happily refreshed from our 1st day off. It's hard to believe we have already had 3 days of rehearsals for this year's production of "A Christmas Carol" at the Hanover Theatre.

  After learning the music for "Wassail" on Friday & Saturday (in addition to many of the songs in the show), it was time to get down to business and learn the dance on Sunday with our wonderful choreographer, Ilyse Robbins. If you haven't seen the show, "Wassail" is our largest, most intricate number in the production. Since it is so big, it helps to learn all the components early on in the rehearsal process that way there is plenty of time for it to sink in. "Wasail" comes in Act One at the "Fezziwig Party" and involves, 22 members of the cast, a fiddle, 7 part harmony, fake beer, a marriage proposal, and lots of dancing! Here's some of the cast members prepping BEFORE learning the staging to "Wassail".  



Yours Truly (Annie Kerins) with Andrew Oberstein



Tyler Bellmon and Co. stretch

Laura DeGiacomo, Kim Kalunian, & Meredith Stypinksi

Here are some tired, sweaty cast members recouping AFTER learning "Wassail" in it's entirety.

Me & Meredith



Kim Kalunian & Jeremy Towle

 

It has BEGUN !!!!

 









Wassail!

Hello again! Opening night has come and gone --- and was fantastic! We've been doing two shows a day since Friday, and one school matinee today; so the festivities have begun! The energy is palpable; in the audience and among the cast and crew. It's an amazing story with heart, and a timeless classic for everyone. As I have said, I am incredibly honored to be a part of the show, and notice always a larger, more silly looking grin on my face backstage before I go on each performance. There's only two more public performances (this Friday) so get on it!

So what does an actor in Hanover Theatre's A Christmas Carol do on an evening off? Why, make a big batch of Wassail of course! What?! You don't know what Wassail is? Well, in the life of a Hanover Theatre Christmas Carol actor it is two things (well, maybe two and a half ). One: an AMAZING arrangement of a traditional Christmas carol by Ralph Vaughn Williams that we sing together during the Fezziwig Party scene (The scene with the Doodlebobs!!! - Look it up in our blog!) when Ebenezer Scrooge visits himself as a young man. The merriment of the Fezziwig party completely embodies the joyous tradition. Two (and a half): Wassailing is a tradition of caroling around the holidays to bless the upcoming crop of apples. It means literally "good health," and became associated with a warmed, mulled cider offered to wassailers for their song. I decided that tonight would be the perfect night to make this traditional drink for the holidays. So I scoured the interwebs and found the following lovely recipe and made it for a holiday party I am attending tomorrow night. Enjoy! (Please note: the beverage does contain alcohol, I did find a non-alcoholic version here).

Ingredients:

8 to 10 small apples

1 large peeled orange stuck with whole cloves

8 to 10 teaspoons brown sugar

2 bottles dry red wine

1 teaspoon ground ginger

3 cloves

Small handful of blueberries

2 or 3 cinnamon sticks

1/2 teaspoon of allspice

2 cups sugar

1/2 gallon of apple cider

1 splash whiskey

Directions:

First, core each apple and  fill with a teaspoon of brown sugar. Place into a baking pan and fill the pan 1/8 of an inch full of water.

Cored apples.

Filled with sugar and ready to bake!

 Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then, peel the orange. Next stick the orange with cloves, about a half an inch apart. It should look similar to this:

Clove-stuck orange.

 Then place alongside the apples and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Remove the orange and the apples and puncture the orange in several places with a fork. Next, in a large saucepan or pot, combine the red wine, cider, ginger, cloves, allspice, blueberries, cinnamon, sugar, and the water from the baked orange and apples. Slowly, bring the mixture to a simmer, cover and let sit on low heat for fifteen minutes (Do not allow to boil). 

Wassail, wassail all up in the pot!

 Add a splash of whiskey, to taste. Pour into a large punch bowl, steaming hot and float the apples and oranges. Serve with a stick of cinnamon. Preferably in a "green maple" bowl. Makes enough for about 15 jolly wassailers!

Oops! Got to head to bed! I've got to jump up for another matinee tomorrow morning at 10! Can't wait!