Gushing with Glee: GMCLA’s 2015 Holiday Spectacular

THE REASON  The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles gave a stunning performance for their annual Holiday Spectacular at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, on December 13 & 14. A portion of ticket sales and donations benefit the it gets better musical, an original performance/education workshop created from a collaboration of GMCLA, Speak Theater Arts and It Gets Better Project.

THE RECAP  Historically, the holiday show is the crowning event of every  GMCLA season, and this year didn’t disappoint. The show blended a few of everyone’s favorite holiday classics with songs from other countries and several songs never before associated with the holidays. The greatest moments were the “Mary Melodies,” (which told the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus, through a medley of West Side Story’s “Maria,” Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary” and The Supremes’ “Love Child”), and three hot beefy shirtless guys swinging sledge hammers to the beat of Verdi’s “Anvil Chorus.” However, the performance of Joni Mitchell’s “River” left many in the audience feeling emotional, some even welled up with tears. Cheers to 36 years!

“It’s coming on Christmas
They’re cutting down trees
They’re putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
I wish I had a river I could skate away on.”
– River by Joni Mitchell

Click on images for a closer look

By EffieMagazine.com contributor, Nicholas Andreas.