‘RUBEN & CLAY’S FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL FAMILY FUN PAGEANT SPECTACULAR REUNION SHOW’: Ruben Studdard & Clay Aiken. Photo: Carol Rosegg

RUBEN & CLAY’S FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL FAMILY FUN PAGEANT SPECTACULAR REUNION SHOW
Written by Ken Arpino & Jesse Joyce
Directed by Jonathan Tessero
Through December 30, 2018
Imperial Theatre
249 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), http://www.rubenandclay.com/

By Scott Harrah

Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken reunite on Broadway this holiday season to celebrate the 15^th anniversary of their finale on “American Idol” back in 2003.

For those that remember and care to reminisce about Mr. Studdard and Mr. Aiken’s pop heyday for the holidays, this “first annual” Christmas Show might be something worth taking the entire family to, but anyone else expecting a razzle-dazzle Broadway seasonal extravaganza will be disappointed.

Mr. Studdard and Mr. Aiken have aged well since their halcyon days, and they are both still in fine voice. Mr. Studdard, one may recall, was the winner of “Idol” in 2003 and was christened “America’s Velvet Teddy Bear” by R&B legend Gladys Knight. He went on to have a platinum-selling album, Soulful, the same year, and has since been seen on reality shows like “The Biggest Loser” and done a national tour of Ruben Sings Luther, a musical tribute to Luther Vandross. Mr. Aiken also found success after “Idol,” with mega sales of his albums Measure of a Man and his 2004 release Merry Christmas with Love. Mr. Aiken is also no stranger to Broadway because he took over David Hyde Pierce’s role in Monty Python’s Spamalot more than a decade ago. So, why are these two pop stars on Broadway for the 2018 holidays for three weeks? ‘Tis simply the season for this type of expensive family fare, perhaps?

Last year, Broadway gave us Home for the Holidays, a Christmas concert featuring lesser-known contestants from “Idol” and “America’s Got Talent” (which was also directed by Jonathan Tessero). Ruben & Clay’s First Annual Christmas Carol Family Fun Pageant Spectacular Reunion Show is certainly a step above the Christmas concerts and overpriced magic shows we get this time of year. In fact, the first act is consistently clever and amusing. While singing Christmas standards like “Silent Night,” “O Holy Night” and “O Come All Ye Faithful,” the two spoof Broadway shows, with Mr. Studdard dressed as the lead from Phantom of the Opera, while the camp-as-Christmas (pun intended) Mr. Aiken sings as he rises above the stage like Elphaba in Wicked. It’s as funny as anything one may have seen in the cabaret satire series Forbidden Broadway. They are also not afraid to address controversy: Mr. Studdard does a nice, cleaned-up “PC” version of the much-maligned 1950 pre-feminist-era holiday song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” with one of the female vocalists.

The duo has a great group of supporting singers (Farrah Alvin, Ken Arpino, Julian Diaz-Granados, La’Nette Wallace, Khaila Wilcoxon), but unfortunately most of the actual fun is all packed into Act One. At the end of the first act, Mr. Studdard, Mr. Aiken and company all try to cram in a medley of holiday classics into just a few minutes. That’s truly a shame because Act Two is mostly filler, complete with a silly word game about the 12 days of Christmas with an audience member, and Mr. Studdard and Mr. Aiken singing downbeat Christmas songs while reflecting on Yuletide memories. Mr. Studdard’s tales of past Christmases with his late brother are often touching, while Mr. Aiken recounts some pointless stories about how his mother used to surprise him at Christmas by pretending he wouldn’t get everything he wanted.

Both men still have fantastic voices, and Mr. Aiken’s is particularly soaring and suitable for live theater, so it’s puzzling why he chose, as a solo, a rather dull Christmas hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (a song about the Christ child that’s in all the hymn books but is not that popular at many churches).

Throughout most of the second act, the kids in the audience were restless and bored. Other than some lame jokes (“all Clay wants for Christmas is Mario Lopez”), there is little memorable material. Director Jonathan Tessero should have simply made the show 90 minutes long, with no intermission.

The official title notes the show is not only the “First Annual” Ruben and Clay Christmas but also a “Carol, Family Fun, Pageant, Spectacular Reunion.” The duo may or may not have enough fans and sell enough tickets to make this an annual holiday event, but they would be wise to add a bit more glitz to make everything more “spectacular” and trim the padding if they return next year.

Reviewed at December 9, 2018 press performance

‘RUBEN & CLAY’S FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL FAMILY FUN PAGEANT SPECTACULAR REUNION SHOW’: Clay Aiken, the cast & Ruben Studdard. Photo: Carol Rosegg

‘RUBEN & CLAY’S FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL FAMILY FUN PAGEANT SPECTACULAR REUNION SHOW’: Clay Aiken & cast. Photo: Carol Rosegg

‘RUBEN & CLAY’S FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL FAMILY FUN PAGEANT SPECTACULAR REUNION SHOW’: The cast & Ruben Studdard. Photo: Carol Rosegg

‘RUBEN & CLAY’S FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL FAMILY FUN PAGEANT SPECTACULAR REUNION SHOW’: Ruben Studdard & Clay Aiken. Photo: Carol Rosegg

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‘HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS’: Candice Glover. Photo: Carol Rosegg

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS:
THE BROADWAY CONCERT CELEBRATION
Performed by Candice Glover, Josh Kaufman, Bianca Ryan,
Peter Hollens & Evynne Hollens
Special appearance by Danny Aiello
Creative & musical direction by Jonathan Tessero
Through December 30, 2017
August Wilson Theatre
877-250-2929, www.holidaysonbroadway.com

 By Scott Harrah

Christmas concerts are nothing new but are rare on Broadway. Home for the Holidays: The Broadway Concert Celebration doesn’t feature any actual Broadway stars and instead showcases three young talents from TV reality competitions: Candice Glover, winner of season 12 of “American Idol”; Josh Kaufman, winner of the sixth season of “The Voice”; and Bianca Ryan of “America’s Got Talent” fame. In addition, there are appearances by Kaitlyn Bristowe from TV’s “The Bachelor”; pop singers and “Youtube sensations” Peter Hollens and wife Evynne Hollens; and a special appearenace by Danny Aiello, all backed by a live brass and rhythm band. This all makes for an pleasant evening or afternoon of Yuletide carols, but the overall feeling, while festive, reminds one more of a glitzy school swing choir or a Christmas variety show on cable TV than a bona fide Broadway celebration of the holidays.

Perhaps Home for the Holidays is a misnomer, because the only holiday noted here is the one observed December 25^th, so this is strictly a Christmas show (sorry, no Hanukkah, Kwanza or New Year’s songs), with the women in glittery gowns by Sherri Hill, Stephen F and Noah Waxman, all looking convivial and full of seasonal spirit in their holiday finery. Creative and musical  director Jonathan Tessero has not put too much imagination into the show, an entertaining but mostly uninspired collection of both Christmas standards and a few originals. Unfortunately there is no song set list given in the Playbill, possibly because most of the material consists of medleys of cherished secular and religious Christmas carols.

The main reasons to see the show are Candice Glover and Josh Kaufman. Ms. Glover is truly phenomenal and has a big, rich, melodic voice that overshadows nearly all the others. Matching her closely is Josh Kaufman, a guy with a mellifluous set of pipes that may remind some of Stevie Wonder. One of the show’s highlights is a dueling duet Mr. Kaufman and Ms. Glover do, covering both “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and the Carpenters’ “Merry Christmas, Darling” simultaneously. While Mr. Kaufman sings of the joys of spending Christmas with his loved one, Ms. Glover belts out plaintively about being alone and missing her one and only in a new spin on the Karen Carpenter classic. In this particular number, Ms. Glover’s voice is absolutely haunting and heartbreaking, and is a wonderful juxtaposition to Mr. Kaufman’s more upbeat classic.

Bianca Ryan, best known for her larger-than-life voice on “America’s Got Talent,” delivers impressive vocals as well. She’s obviously styled herself after such multi-octave-range pros as Mariah Carey and the late Whitney Houston, but here she has a few pitch problems with some of the material. In addition, her manic hand gestures grow tiresome after awhile.

The rest of the featured singers are entertaining but otherwise forgettable. Although husband and wife Peter Hollens and Evynne Hollens harmonize wonderfully together, and must be given credit for such things as an original song by Mr. Hollens, don’t people mostly want to hear Christmas standards? A Broadway Christmas show at these steep prices probably is not the place to test out new, unfamiliar material. Thrown into the mix are Kaitlyn Bristowe, a young woman with a decent voice, and Oscar-nominated actor Danny Aiello, who sings a few songs (he actually has an admirable voice) and also regales us with tales of his boyhood Christmases in New York.

Home for the Holidays might have been a bigger draw with some genuine Broadway or major Hollywood names and more variety, but as is there seems to be a lot missing here. It would have been nice if Danny Aiello could have put on a Santa suit, for example. In addition, Jonathan Tessero’s creative and musical direction of these gifted young vocalists unfortunately never goes anywhere beyond the pop style of “American Idol” and other musical reality TV shows.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 21, 2017
Reviewed at November 19, 2017 press performance.

‘HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS’: (Left to right) Evynne Hollens, Peter Hollens, Bianca Ryan, Danny Aiello, Kaitlyn Bristowe & Josh Kaufman. Photo: Carol Rosegg

‘HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS’: (Left to right) Bianca Ryan, Peter Hollens, Evynne Hollens, Candice Glover & Josh Kaufman. Photo: Carol Rosegg

‘HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS’: (Left to right) Peter Hollens, Evynne Hollens, Josh Kaufman, Biance Ryan. Photo: Carol Rosegg

‘HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS’: Evynne Hollens & Peter Hollens. Photo: Carol Rosegg

‘HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS’: Josh Kaufman, Bianca Ryan & Candice Glover. Photo: Carol Rosegg

‘HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS’: Josh Kaufman. Photo: Carol Rosegg

‘HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS’: Kaitlyn Bristowe. Photo: Carol Rosegg

‘HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS’: Danny Aiello. Photo: Carol Rosegg

‘HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS’: Candice Glover. Photo: Carol Rosegg

‘HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS’: Evynne Hollens, Peter Hollens & Danny Aiello. Photo: Carol Rosegg

Home for the Holidays Youtube montage

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