Theatre review: The Gingerbread Men: A Holiday Cabaret delights with four-part harmonies
Brennan Cuff, Brandyn Eddy, Jer Lowe, and Jeffrey Victor serenade the audience with holiday favourites
The Gingerbread Men: A Holiday Cabaret. Photo by Moonrider Productions
The Arts Club Theatre Company presents The Gingerbread Men: A Holiday Cabaret to December 17 at Newmont Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre
WITH THE HOLIDAY season in full swing, an entertaining offering that will appeal to those who love nostalgic Christmas songs and high-quality singing is The Gingerbread Men: A Holiday Cabaret. This vocal showcase by The Gingerbread Men (TGM), a local quartet with a distinct 1950s-era flavour, makes for a fun and intimate evening, as though audiences are treated to a personal concert in a cozy living room. The suave and personable performers deliver their material with enthusiasm, style, and polished attention to detail in their vocals and movements.
Throughout the two-act production, the members of TGM—Brennan Cuff, Brandyn Eddy, Jer Lowe, and Jeffrey Victor—serenade the audience with holiday favourites that range from upbeat bangers like “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree”, “Holly Jolly Christmas”, and “Jingle Bell Rock” to ballads such as “Silent Night” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, showing off TGM’s playfulness and fabulous four-part harmonies. The ear-pleasing vocals range from Cuff’s tenor to Lowe’s bass. Performed with debonair style and charm, the cabaret show is a throwback to the golden era of the stage and screen, including a section dedicated to the film White Christmas—a nod to the quartet’s beginnings a decade or so back, forming when the four performed in in the Arts Club’s stage production of the film.
As TGM’s frontman, Victor performs with tremendous energy and charisma throughout, and his versatility makes for fantastic tributes to Bing Crosby in the White Christmas section as well as Elvis Presley in his rendition of “Blue Christmas”, complete with some surprise costume accessories.
This is a wonderfully slick production, with humour-infused and clever use of props, such as pulling out instruments hidden in Christmas presents onstage to use as accompaniment. The Gingerbread Men even use their feet to accompany themselves in “The Man With the Bag”, a rousing tap dance routine choreographed by Keri Minty. While the group performs with backing tracks, quite a few numbers are performed a capella, such as a captivating rendition of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman”, with vocal captain Cuff always keeping the quartet on key and tempo. One unique offering is a Spanish song from the 1550s, titled “Ríu Ríu Chíu”—a song that beautifully showcases Eddy’s voice, his authenticity in the Spanish pronunciation making for a mesmerizing number.
Ted Roberts’s inviting set, which features a gorgeous Christmas tree bedecked with gingerbread-men ornaments, a fireplace with stockings hanging from the mantle, and plaid-printed armchairs would not only be Hallmark movie-approved but also helps draw the audience into TGM’s golden-era-holiday setting. There’s also a bar set up right in the theatre, so audience members can quietly order drinks throughout the show without having to miss out on the action.
Throughout the evening, The Gingerbread Men keep things conversational and interactive, creating the feeling that audience members are guests in their home. And of course, a holiday gathering wouldn’t be complete without games! To that end, the show includes an enjoyable (and easy) interactive activity that results in a fun surprise onstage in the second act.
From start to finish, the joy in performing radiates from the stage. Back when TGM was founded, these performers were mainstays on stages throughout the Lower Mainland. But in the years since, parenthood and other life changes have limited their appearances, and many audience members will now primarily recognize these gentlemen from their gigs singing at the Vancouver Christmas Market. To be back on an Arts Club stage together again is a milestone for TGM, and each singer glows with happiness throughout the show. The Gingerbread Men: A Holiday Cabaret is as much a festive holiday experience as it is an uplifting example of keeping the passion for performing merry and bright.
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