Hear sweet holiday stories all month long
We’re missing our usual round of live holiday performances in downtown San Jose, whether it’s the delightful “Carols at the California,” any number of holiday-themed plays or a “Nutcracker” for every taste. But though the stages are still dark, a special audio- only presentation is helping keep performance alive in downtown San Jose.
“The Stories of the Holidays” and “Stories of the Arts” — celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa — are displayed in eight 12-foot-high windows at City View Plaza on Market Street across from Plaza de César Chávez. Every night through Jan. 3, visitors can stroll by from 4 to 10 p.m. to listen to five-minute versions of “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “A Christmas Carol,” “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” and more.
The stories are bookended by holiday tunes and are presented in English, Spanish and Vietnamese. Other windows feature displays of costumes used in holiday productions, and there also are audioonly comedy routines and games, with everything thanks to a collaboration among Guggenheim Entertainment, 3Below Theaters and the San Jose Downtown Association.
Of course, if you’re moved to help keep San Jose’s performing arts groups survive until next holiday season, you can head over to 3belowtheaters.com/the-story- ofholiday-arts and learn about their various COVID-19 recovery plans.
CHORUS GETS INNOVATIVE >> The Ragazzi Boys Chorus will be livestreaming its holiday concert, “Beyond the Stars,” on Sunday, with each member singing live from his own home. Anyone who has tried singing together with family or friends on platforms like Zoom know that can be a challenge, but the Peninsula performing arts group figured out a tech solution to the built-in delay.
The groundbreaking Ragazzi Virtual Studio, which improves audio quality and reduces the delay time so singers can harmonize, was developed by the JackTrip Foundation, launched by Ragazzi parent Mike Dickey in collaboration with Chris Chafe and Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics. A virtual rehearsal this fall had more than 80 choristers singing together live, believed to be the largest group to ever do so remotely.
You can hear it for yourself by checking out the program, which includes holiday season songs as well as works that honor endurance and optimism. Tickets are available at ragazzi.org, and a donation of $25 is suggested.
HOLIDAY CLASSIC REVISITED: TABARD THEATRE COMPANY IS SET TO STREAM
ITS PRODUCTION OF “IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE” >> A Live Radio Play” starts today, though much like George Bailey’s life, things didn’t go quite as expected. Executive Artistic Director Jonathan Rhys Williams noted that when Santa Clara County slipped back into the state’s most restrictive purple tier, plans were switched up to make the show a prerecorded extravaganza.
To ensure everyone’s safety, each actor performed his or her part solo, and the tech wizards have stitched the pieces together to create the finished show. That process did create a delay, forcing the premiere to be pushed back from Dec. 4. To make up for it, the show has been extended to Dec. 24, when there’ll be a Christmas Eve matinee. And though the play itself will be recorded, Williams will host a live preshow for each performance, with trivia and socializing in the chat area. Go to tabardtheatre.org for tickets.
HOME TOUR SHIFTS GEARS
>> Count the annual Santa Clara Historic Home Tour as another event that had to change plans because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Chair Nancy Biagini let me know that instead of a live, in-person tour this year, the committee created an online tour with more than 50 historic buildings, both public and private, in the core of the Old Quad neighborhood.
You can be a lookieloo from the comfort of your own home — all you need is any device with a browser — or you can stroll the area using the tour as a guide. There are details on each site, and a guide to architectural styles, too.
“Our city historian, the inimitable Lorie Garcia, provided years of research into the information provided,” Biagini said, who added that it will be a permanent fixture on the Santa Clara Historic Home Tour website, sc-hometour. com, and will be updated with more sites in the future.