INDY'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTING ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

Sing & be merry

It’s high spirits all the way for this newly burnished 17th season of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s elaborate Yuletide Celebration at the Hilbert Circle Theatre. Now sponsored by First Indiana Bank, with Maestro Jack Everly and soprano Sylvia McNair, expect also to enjoy a roster of Indianapolis-based talent, returning headliners and a few new personalities. The Dec. 6 audience heartily applauded a luscious set replete with rich lighting, gorgeous costumes and ISO musicians who switch from classical to kitsch with the don of a hat. The folks also let show host McNair know she’s right on the money with her career move from opera to variety. She can sing, dance, get the timing perfect on a set-up and play the fiddle. Alexander Streltsov again thrills with his aerial art, soaring into the front rows on a gossamer stretch of fabric. Karen Callaway Williams makes tap dancing look as easy as a stroll to the mall. Baritone Doug LaBrecque lends his song styling to a hold-your-breath-and-listen rendition of “Do You Hear What I Hear?” And, with Chad Freeburg and Rob Eich, LaBrecque serves his upper range as one of the “Three Yuletide Tenors” for the show-stopping medley arranged by Jack Everly (whose other stellar arrangements appear throughout the program). Yet, most fun of all is the routine to Jule Styne’s “Be a Santa.” Of course, it’s the bona fide, one-and-only Santa himself on that stage, grooving with the best of them. Through Dec. 23. Call 639-4300 for more information and tickets.