If overindulging at the office holiday party earned you a lump-of-coal end-of-year bonus, and waiting three hours to see a department store Santa makes you want to change your name to Ebenezer, you’re going to need to get in the spirit somehow. Don’t book a one-way ticket to the Island of Misfit Toys! Instead, hot-glue some flair to that ugly X-mas sweater and enjoy a program of multilayered harmonies, elaborate “choralography” and irreverent humor.
This weekend, the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus (SFGMC) will return for the 37th year to present Dancers, Prancers & Vixens!, a holiday show featuring the full 275-member chorus and the singing string quartet Well-Strung. With three performances (Friday, December 12, at 8 p.m., and Saturday, December 13, at 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.) at the Nourse Theater (275 Hayes Street), it’s a staple of the holiday calendar that’s sure to get even the Grinch-iest of hearts to grow three sizes. Tickets range from $25 to $65 and are available at sfgmc.org or by calling (415) 392-4400.
Dancers, Prancers & Vixens! covers ground from Mozart to Madonna, Ke$ha to Vivaldi, and features the world premiere of a new piece by contemporary American composer Ola Gjeilo. Beyond holiday classics and a set of songs that pays tribute to the gayest city on Earth, Santa Claus himself will be there with some of his hippest elves and a 1980s nativity scene. (The ox and lamb kept time – and rocked Flock of Seagulls haircuts too!) You’ll laugh, you’ll cry – and it’s definitely shorter than CATS,Interstellar, or a dramatic reading of Santa’s naughty list by ZIP code.
Having filled the world with song since 1978, the SFGMC is a world-renowned ensemble that fights for inclusion and empowerment for LGBT people, and does so with not an insignificant amount of sparkle thrown in. Under the musical direction of Dr. Timothy Seelig, the chorus continues to make history and pave the way for equality, while Well-Strung won worldwide plaudits almost immediately after they first performed in 2012. (Not for nothing did the New York Daily News call them “the hottest thing with a bow since Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games.) Together, the SFGMC and Well-Strung are guaranteed to add cheer to the season like no other. Dancers, Prancers & Vixens!will be fun for the entire same- or opposite-sex-headed family.
And as for that ugly sweater, get the Bedazzler ready, because there’s going to be a contest, and you just know the competition will be stiff. Don we now our gayest apparel for some festive good times from this iconic San Francisco institution.
Grab your tickets to Dancers, Prancers & Vixens! here.