The Charleston Christmas Special
Yet Again Produced by Brad and Jennifer Moranz
By: Sanmdy Katz - Dec 14, 2016
Brad and Jennifer Moranz want y'all to have a Holly Jolly Christmas and a Happy New Year. For the past 21 years their Charleston Christmas Special has provided Broadway-quality entertainment with the gusto of holiday happiness.
We remember when their daughter was featured and how she stole the show. Now we are seeing other young people given that opportunity.
When you attend a Brad & Jennifer show you get the feeling that it’s getting to look a lot like Christmas. The stage is decked out with brightly lit Christmas trees.
The musical director James Davis Jr. plays on a grand piano which is the centerpiece of the stage. Considering that he took over this position on December 1st he did a sensational job leading a fabulous seven-piece band. Right down the middle of the stage was a small stair case for the principle singers to make dramatic entrances.
It always amazes me when performers have so many costume changes. Somehow they manage to coordinate fashionable attire with musical numbers. Thanks to JMO designs for an enormous effort to sew so many sequences to each costume.
The opening number featured a dancing snowman accompanied by "Let it Snow" with dancers in sexy red and white sexy costumes. We would love to credit the performers but the program doesn’t identify them.
A Christmas favorite "Jingle bells" sung by Michael Minor was accompanied by three ladies who acted like faux Supremes and were dressed to kill.
Jenna Flaherty, a remarkably talented 15-year-old, wowed the audience with “Ava Marie.” She rocked the house with the power of a magnificent voice.
Besides numerous production numbers with principle singers and dancers, Brad and Jennifer provide skits for comic relief. That usually entails her trying to get the upper hand. They convey the hilarity of challenging domestic situations. The Hawaii-themed skit was wonderful in two parts. The latter featured Hula dancers that made you want to hop a plane to Hawaii for more fun.
Brad teamed up with singer/ventriloquist Michael Minor to do a skit with reindeer puppets. I was so seated so far from the stage in a rear corner, however, that I missed that Minor was a ventriloquist. I only learned of this through program notes. Distance from the stage made it challenging to hear Brad’s introductions of performers. We regret not being able to give a more accurate and detailed report of a wonderful theatrical event.
After intermission, Tim McManus sang a beautiful rendition of "Go Tell It To the Mountain." Garrett Graham also entertained us with “Oh Come All Ye Faithful."
Thanks as always to Brad & Jennifer for an afternoon well spent with terrific entertainment that put us in the Holiday spirit!