The Joe Iconis Christmas Spectacular! at Ars Nova
This was the weekend for the Joe Iconis Christmas Spectacular! Joe Iconis and friends took the stage for three shows at Ars Nova (two on Saturday and one on Sunday) and I went to all three. This was the Second Annual Christmas Spectacular at Ars Nova and I hope it will continue for many years to come!
Last year there was only one Christmas Spectacular and it was at 11 pm a few days before Christmas. My friends and I had such a good time that we cleared our schedule when we saw Joe was coming back for two shows this weekend. I brought my brother-in-law who was visiting from Michigan and another New Yorker who had never been to Ars Nova. They loved the 8pm show so much that we all returned for the 11 pm show.
Joe Iconis has yet to disappoint for any show, and this was no exception. Ars Nova was all decked out for Christmas… it was over the top decorations for the holidays and it looked a little bit like Santa threw up in the 99-seat black box theater. The crew sang old Christmas standards like Santa Claus is Coming to Town and less know songs like Hard Candy Christmas and New York Fairytale. There were several plot lines running throughout the show, all of which were amusing, including the need to cheer Santa up and an evil landlord who was going to set the entire cast on fire if they didn’t stop performing. Broadway’s Mary Testa and the incredible singer Annie Golden were both in attendance (they performed at last year’s Christmas Spectacular too) and both reminded the crowd that they still sounded fabulous.
Be on the lookout for this show next year, because it sold out two shows. It is impossible to leave the show and not be in the Christmas spirit, it was all things you want it to be, including totally over the top!
