I was not impressed. Yes, I could see that hours upon hours of hard work and preparation went into it, but I really couldn't stand most of the show. The entire first half embodied all that I hate about Christmas, and there's an awful lot to dislike about what Christmas has become.
First I will present a brief commentary on the aesthetic impact of the thing. While being rather important to any performance, my opinions of it successes and shortcomings are overpowered by the worldview reasons I will be sharing shortly. Everything was executed very well according to its own style. I'm not a huge fan of some of the style, but I will admit that it was well-performed. The first act was so loud and brassy and glittery and over-the-top. And this is coming from someone who loves musicals. The overall visual impact from the Cantata (the second part) can best be summed up in one word: trippy. It was a nice, mellow, soft, pastel colored sort of trippy, but it was trippy nonetheless. In fact, I said as much to Adrianne the second the curtains opened. But the second half was much better as far as music goes. I love listening to songs in Latin, and there were a few during the Cantata.
Before I go off on a tirade about the first half, I'd like to give a few additional compliments to the content of the Cantata. It contained lots of songs that use words like "God," "Jesus," "Christ," "Lord," etc. Words that ought to be essential to the holiday - and indeed to every day.
And now for my attack on the ideology of the first half. Oh dear heavens, it was atrocious. Apparently PMO would like to wish you a very merry humanist Christmas. I couldn't decide whether I'd like to punch someone, puke, or sit there open-mouthed. The overall message was that you need to use your imagination so you can believe in Santa Claus (because we all know that belief is a wishy-washy sort of thing that requires wishful thinking and suspension of reality - unlike knowledge) so that you can be inspired by him to love other people. So I'm fine with the loving other people part, but everything leading up to that was total garbage. I mean, the final song said that love was the reason for the season, and that only by believing in Santa Claus could you spread the holiday love. Bullshit. Will people stop watering down Christmas? Love doesn't mean you share toys and food with the needy around the holidays because that's what Santa Claus did. Love means you share your life with everyone all the time, whether they deserve it or not. You know, kind of like God did by becoming a human and dying in our place. The infinite lord and master of the universe inhabiting a human body for a few decades and then dying a horrendous death is the most extravagant and humble display of love and power this world will ever know. That's what Christmas is about. It's time for us all to refocus.
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