Music meets stage in Spokane Valley Summer Theatre’s ‘A Big Band Christmas’

The holiday season can feel like a balancing act for theaters. There’s the desire to check off all the holiday classics audiences have come to expect while also producing something that feels fresh yet still festive.

Walking that fine line is Spokane Valley Summer Theatre’s “A Big Band Christmas,” which combines holiday classics, like a Nativity play, with newer songs, and a fun storyline that features the Ponderosa Elementary School Pinetones, Santa and Mrs. Claus’ favorite elf and “Little Red,” a not-so-little red Chevy Apache truck.

The production plays Friday through Sunday at University High School.

The cast includes Rickie Almaraz-Rosales, Andrea Bates, Melody Chang, Carol Davis, Doug Dawson, Dan Griffith, Dylan James, Alexis Meeker, Max Mendez, Isabella Mesenbrink, Gatieh Nacario, Andrea Olsen, Drew Olsen, Darnelle Preston, Jennifer Tindall and Landon Toth.

Music director/conductor Andrea Olsen leads a 17-piece band, which features percussionist Taylor Belote, trumpeters William Berry, Terry Jones, Brendan McMurphy and Brian Ploeger, keyboardist Matt Goodrich, reed players Ken Burge, Brandon Campbell, Craig Catlett, Sheila McCallum and Merilee Updike, bassist Rob Peterson, guitarist Art Corcoran, and trombonists Erreck Conley, Marc Houdaver, Chris Poole and Tim Sandford.

“A Big Band Christmas” started during the pandemic as a way for Spokane Valley Summer Theatre to virtually send cheer to audiences. Singers recorded themselves performing big band classics from home and the theater put those performances together in a video program.

The next year, when theaters were allowed to return to in-person performances, the theater once again decided to spread some holiday spirit with a live show featuring Spokane Valley Summer Theatre staples performing their favorite holiday songs with a big band onstage.

Wanting to amp things up even more the following year, Olsen suggested she write a script for the show, weaving a story and holiday songs, both religious and secular, into one production.

“It has grown into this larger-than-life production about Christmas,” Olsen said. “What we wanted to do was showcase our performers from the summer season during the year. It’s another touchpoint for our patrons to come in and see Spokane Valley Summer Theatre people but in maybe slightly a different way with the band on stage.”

This year’s show features the theme “Christmas in the Country.” A small-town children’s choir (the Ponderosa Pinetones) is working on producing the Nativity play, but bad weather has forced flight cancellations for guest musicians. Their teacher (Tindall) then hopes for a record player so she can share her Aunt Ginny’s records with her students, so Santa and Mrs. Clause send their favorite elf (Dawson) and Little Red to deliver the gift and ensure that the show goes on.

Olsen decided on the “show within a show” format early on in the scripting process as a way to incorporate the Pinetones, who debuted in “A Big Band Christmas” last year, and also make room for the variety of holiday songs she wanted to include in the production.

“Weaving those secular and sacred stories together, I think it turned out really well,” she said. “I always try and make sure there’s something for everyone. If there’s a song, for example, that you’re like ‘Oh, I’ve never heard this song,’ or ‘Oh, not this one again,’ the next song that you hear is probably going to be something that you’re like ‘Oh, I’ve forgotten this, or ‘Oh my gosh, here’s a new one. I want to go find that song again.’ “

One song in this year’s production is so new that there was not yet sheet music for the performers and musicians, so Olsen reached out to local composer William Berry, who arranged the piece for “A Big Band Christmas.”

Between the variety of songs in the show and the both comical and touching storylines, plus the additions of festive costumes and a decorated set, Olsen estimates there won’t be a dry eye in the house by the end of the production.

“It’s an all-around entertainment,” Olsen said. “To keep it moving forward, you can’t get stuck in one storyline. There’ll be things for adults but also things for kids to be excited about too. I think there will be something for everyone, for all ages to enjoy.”

Having become a holiday tradition for the Spokane Valley Summer Theatre, Olsen hopes “A Big Band Christmas” continues to be a holiday tradition for families in the area looking to enjoy classic songs, rearranged holiday tunes and new works, all with a big band twist.

This year especially is a chance for audiences to pretend they really are spending Christmas in the country, with no Wi-Fi or other distractions, just quality time with friends and family.

“The thing that SVST is really proud of is those details that do take you away from your stress outside,” Olsen said. “You can leave it at the door for a couple hours and just be transported and live in this happy and sparkling place for a couple hours.”