Washington Revels

Different every year, as the Revels feature yuletide traditions and music from a particular culture. Hard to say whether the most praiseworthy element is the music, the costumes, the camaraderie, or the sheer gorgeousness of the stage picture. The Washington Christmas Revels are special.

There are holiday traditions we inherit from our families, and those we create for ourselves. Upon seeing my first Revels performance in 2007, I was hooked; now the winter performance is the centerpiece of my holiday season, and I wouldn’t miss it. In the Revels I experience again the sense of wonder and magic that Christmas held for me as a child. WELCOME, YULE!
It’s ironic that something called the Christmas Revels would appeal to someone like me, who enjoys neither Christian/​nativity aspect nor the secular/​consumerist/​Santa aspect of Christmas as it’s commonly celebrated in the U. S (bah, humbug!). Christmas Revels is about winter as it is celebrated in folk traditions around the world, and each year the time and culture of the show is different. My first year it was Victorian England; other recent settings include Renaissance Italy and early French Canadian explorers.
Revels is pitched just right: It is appropriate for children, and yet it doesn’t dumb down for a kiddie audience. It is a Christmas show that is held «in celebration of the winter solstice». The settings are historic, but you don’t feel like you’re watching something distant from your experience. It can be in turns silly and rollicking and breathtakingly beautiful. It includes some audience participation, but not the kind that makes you want to crawl under your chair to avoid being involved.
If Christmas isn’t your thing, you can experience Revels during the rest of the year; the company also hosts a Harvest Barn Dance, a Pub Sing, and a SunFest, among other seasonal offerings. Smaller ensembles perform around themes of the Civil War, sea chanteys, and early African-​American music. All are high-​caliber.

«Dance, then, wherever you may be.
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he,…»
My second Washington Christmas Revels performance was just as enjoyable as last year’s…they just put in me in such a happy holiday spirit. Everyone is so talented, from the singers, to the musicians, to the dancers… and especially the swordspeople (yes this is worked into a holiday performance).
Part of the fun is the audience participation… periodic sing-​a-​longs (some even in rounds), the person chosen from the crowd to be the «fool king/​queen» for one number, and my favorite, the audience joining the cast before intermission to dance out into the lobby while singing the «Lord of the Dance» to the tune of «Simple Gifts»…it’s amazing how many people can go in semi-​circles while holding hands, singing and dancing…
Beautiful, extremely informative and detailed programs accompany the performance, highlighting the historical period/​cultural traditions for that year’s chosen theme (old English Country Christmas this year, Italian Renaissance Christmas last year… different part of the world each year), what the story is based on, as well as the basic storyline and brief write-​ups for each number… and any words for the audience sing-​along portions!
Each year the performance ends with both the performers and the audience singing the traditional «Sussex Mummers’ Carol.» I wouldn’t miss the DC Revel’s Christmas Show, and hope to make it a yearly tradition… young, old, and in between love this. Can’t wait to find out what the theme is for 2011.
Only wish my friend would have let me know about them a few years earlier!
«…And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance,» said he.”

After twenty years of trudging to the Lisner Auditorium waiting in line to get in even with tickets, inadequate bathroom facilities… true Scrooge
bar humbug philosophy I can still honestly say «WASHINGTON REVELS IS STILL MAGNIFICENT!!!’ it is OUR holiday tradition, and is for everyone! Wouldn’t miss it for the world but beg them to come to Annapolis and make life easier for this ol’ girl. The production is excellent, the talent amazing, the puns are so Brit, it’s fun in the highest «Panto» tradition. I love the Mummers Carol, the good triumphs over evil, and this year was no exception… I weep at the end unashamedly, and sing «God Bless the Master of Your House» while hugging our friend Terry who introduced us to Revels years ago as we remember the seasons past. Fave story of Revels: The look of horror on the face of an elderly man with a walker as he exited the bathroom to be faced with hundreds of conga line revelers singing ‘Lord of the Dance’ and wondered if he’d ever see his seat again. It’s all in the timing of the intermission! Fave performance was sometime in the nineties and based on the People of the North, Russia, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian. It was Brilliant! With a huge processional of the Goddess of the Winter starting the show. I am yet to see an poor performance. Revels is truly the best of Washington and long may we gather together to «Welcome Yule» .If you haven’t seen Revels treat yourself and those you love as this is the last weekend..

Am I really writing a review for a theater performance? To be fair it comes on every year. It’s basically a DC institution. And hell I’ve reviewed Metro stations and you can’t get lower than that (except maybe reviewing fictional things like the Unilocal Jail).
I went to the Christmas Revels for the first time last night and I had a blast. Maybe it was the show (set in Italy during the time of Da Vinci). Maybe it was the atmosphere. Maybe it was the company I was with. Nah, it was everything. I can’t say I’d been in the best of moods before going, and I certainly wasn’t in the Christmas spirit, but after the show I felt a lot more jovial and a lot more in the Christmas mood.
If you haven’t been, I suggest you go. Get your closest friends and go. Have some nice dinner before the show and get some good coffee after. It’s just a fun way to spend your night, because not only are the actors excellent performers, the audience also gets to participate! There are a fair few sing-​alongs, and at intermission the company goes into the aisles and leads the audience in a song and dance through the auditorium. I’m not much of a singer or dancer but even I had fun!

Where to begin? As with most of my reviews, I’m really giving away one of my favorite things to do and I’m always torn between «do I share or keep it hidden and for myself?»
The Revels is one of my favorite holiday traditions, every year I take someone new to it in the hopes of making new converts. That being said, I’ve already booked my tickets for this year so it’s safe to write about it… :)
The Revels play for a short time at Lisner Auditorium — 8 performances over two weekends — that’s why I’m scared to Unilocal about it! Their slogan says it all «Celebrating Traditions through Music.» Each song covers a different chapter in american history, the costumes and set change constantly, it’s something to see. The Revels is a family tradition, people of all ages are involved and singing and they actually get together year round to do various concerts and music celebrations.
Go once and you’ll be hooked.