‘Traditions of Christmas: A Musical Spectacular’ returns for the holiday season in CdA

After last year’s last-minute cancellation, the creative team at Laura Little Productions is thrilled to be returning to the stage at the Kroc Center with “Traditions of Christmas: A Musical Spectacular.”

“We went all the way through rehearsals until the third week of November last year … so technically it’s the ninth annual, but it feels like the 10th,” Laura Little said.

With just over half of last year’s cast, mostly volunteers, returning for this year’s production, the show is in well-practiced hands.

Directed by Rick Taylor with musical direction by Deborah Rambo Sinn, “Traditions of Christmas” is a “Radio City Music Hall” theatrical variety show.

“There’s dance, but there’s also a lot of storytelling and wonderful songs to share,” Little said. The choreography team is made of Brenda Blankenship, Brianna White and Annie Stillar.

Full of dance numbers, holiday medleys and various tributes, the lineup includes a living nativity scene, several Dickens caroler scenes, more than 400 costumes, the “iconic” kick line and a particular favorite of Little’s, the USO show-style military tribute.

“There’s a point in the show where we ask people who served in branches of the military to stand up while our girls tap to their anthems, and it just makes my heart glow year after year seeing them stand up,” Little said.

“Sometimes, we’ll get 90-year-old men standing up and young Marines coming over and helping them. … Not everybody gets to see that. But I have a bird’s-eye view of it. And it’s just a magnificent feeling.”

Operating with a reduced cast – 38 performers as opposed to the usual 70 – to accommodate health guidelines and recommendations, the show has only had to cut about 15 minutes from the runtime.

“There are some things that we just haven’t experimented with before,” Little said, mentioning some of the vocal duets that she was able to include.

Even after years of producing the show, Little never tires of it. This year especially, she is looking forward to welcoming back old friends and seeing new faces in the audience.

“I just love sitting in the sound booth watching the audience’s reactions,” she said. “It just brings a tear to my eye every single time … when you work so hard on a production and then it finally comes to life and you see the audience love it as much as you do. It makes every single day worth it.”

To allow for social distancing in the audience, organizers have scheduled six additional performances.

Performances are 7 p.m. Friday; 1, 4 and 7 p.m. Saturday; 2 and 5 p.m. Sunday; 5 and 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 17; 1, 4 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec 18; 2 and 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 19; and 3, 5 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 22.

For more information, visit traditionsofchristmasnw.com or call the box office at (208) 261-2388.