The holiday show from the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus sings 'Naughty or Nice'
Wed. November 29, 2017 6:35 AM by Ross Forman
previous chicago gay men's chorus show
photo credit // cgmc
Chicago Gay Men's Chorus holiday show -- Dec. 1, Dec. 9 and Dec. 10
The Chicago Gay Men's Chorus tackles that ever-tough holiday debate: Have you been naughty or nice?!
The Chorus presents its 2017 Holiday Show, fittingly titled, Naughty or Nice.
The 150-member Chorus will choose between the beauties and bawdies, the reckless and royal, and the wanton and wise. Members will decide which of Santa's lists they belong on, with selections from John Legend, Morten Lauridsen's "O Magnum Mysterium," Zoltan Kodaly's "Veni Emmanuel," as well as Devo, Eurythmics, South Park, Ella Fitzgerald, Clarence Carter, and others.
There will be three shows: The debut show is Friday, Dec. 1, at the Athenaeum Theatre (2936 N. Southport Ave.), starting at 8 p.m., then Saturday, Dec. 9, at the North Shore Center in Skokie at 8 p.m., then finally Sunday, Dec. 10 at the Beverly Arts Center (2407 W. 111th St.), starting at 3 p.m.
"This holiday show is different from anything else you will see this holiday season," said Jimmy Morehead, artistic director for the Chorus. "Selections will vary from beautiful to bawdy. Although rest assured you will hear some holiday favorites, be prepared for some glorious choral singing and tongue-in-cheek CGMC humor."
Morehead, 37, who lives in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood, has been with the Chorus for 10 years, and is in his third year as artistic director.
"Our three different locations provide audiences with a variety of options in order to see us," Morehead said. "Our Chicago venue is easily accessible by public transportation. Skokie has ample parking for those who drive and serves predominantly our north and west suburban supporters. Beverly Arts Center is a wonderful venue with ample parking to entertain our audience members predominantly from the southside and south suburbs."
Morehead said he is particularly excited for two selections he wrote for the show – a Bell song and a Lullaby mashup. "I'll let each listener pick their own favorite moment," he added.
Overall, there will be 19 songs.
The CGMC is already planning for its live singing drag show, LIPSTICK AND LYRICS: VICE VERSA in February, which will feature members of the chorus performing new interpretations of some favorite songs.
In May, the CGMC presents UNDER THE BIG TOP, which will feature local circus performers and an array of music.
The CGMC has more than 200 members, with 150 active singing members, racially diverse but predominantly white, ranging in age from 20 to 75. The Chorus features, by day, servers, teachers, doctors, students, and more.
"Last season was tremendous with our all-girl group drag show and boy-band throwback," Morehead said. "It's nice to move into some more classical literature for this show."
The CGMC will celebrate its 35th anniversary in 2018.
For tickets to either of the three Holiday Shows, go to: www.cgmc.org/2017-events/holiday/
The Chorus presents its 2017 Holiday Show, fittingly titled, Naughty or Nice.
The 150-member Chorus will choose between the beauties and bawdies, the reckless and royal, and the wanton and wise. Members will decide which of Santa's lists they belong on, with selections from John Legend, Morten Lauridsen's "O Magnum Mysterium," Zoltan Kodaly's "Veni Emmanuel," as well as Devo, Eurythmics, South Park, Ella Fitzgerald, Clarence Carter, and others.
There will be three shows: The debut show is Friday, Dec. 1, at the Athenaeum Theatre (2936 N. Southport Ave.), starting at 8 p.m., then Saturday, Dec. 9, at the North Shore Center in Skokie at 8 p.m., then finally Sunday, Dec. 10 at the Beverly Arts Center (2407 W. 111th St.), starting at 3 p.m.
"This holiday show is different from anything else you will see this holiday season," said Jimmy Morehead, artistic director for the Chorus. "Selections will vary from beautiful to bawdy. Although rest assured you will hear some holiday favorites, be prepared for some glorious choral singing and tongue-in-cheek CGMC humor."
Morehead, 37, who lives in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood, has been with the Chorus for 10 years, and is in his third year as artistic director.
"Our three different locations provide audiences with a variety of options in order to see us," Morehead said. "Our Chicago venue is easily accessible by public transportation. Skokie has ample parking for those who drive and serves predominantly our north and west suburban supporters. Beverly Arts Center is a wonderful venue with ample parking to entertain our audience members predominantly from the southside and south suburbs."
Morehead said he is particularly excited for two selections he wrote for the show – a Bell song and a Lullaby mashup. "I'll let each listener pick their own favorite moment," he added.
Overall, there will be 19 songs.
The CGMC is already planning for its live singing drag show, LIPSTICK AND LYRICS: VICE VERSA in February, which will feature members of the chorus performing new interpretations of some favorite songs.
In May, the CGMC presents UNDER THE BIG TOP, which will feature local circus performers and an array of music.
The CGMC has more than 200 members, with 150 active singing members, racially diverse but predominantly white, ranging in age from 20 to 75. The Chorus features, by day, servers, teachers, doctors, students, and more.
"Last season was tremendous with our all-girl group drag show and boy-band throwback," Morehead said. "It's nice to move into some more classical literature for this show."
The CGMC will celebrate its 35th anniversary in 2018.
For tickets to either of the three Holiday Shows, go to: www.cgmc.org/2017-events/holiday/