By David F. Rooney
Sunday’s Ken Lavigne Christmas Musical Roadshow proved to be a a hugely delightful concert; besides its gorgeous music it featured stories, jokes and even a ‘snowball’ fight with the audience.
The concert was designed so it had the look and fell of a 1940s or ’50s radio show. And Lavigne and his colleagues, singers Alison MacDonald and Danuel James White, and the band — drummer Matthew Atkins, bassist Casey Rider, violinist Llowyn Ball and pianist Andy Slade looked the part.
Ken Lavigne is a Vancouver Island native and one of the founders of the Romanza group which has sung here before. Lavigne has also sung at Carnegie Hall in New York. MacDonald has worked at theatres across the country and played Patsy C.line in A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline and has co-produced many cabarets and chamber-style musicals. Daniel James White was trained at the Canadian College of Performing Arts and has performed across BC.
They performed traditional Christmas songs and their rendition of Silent Night brought tears to my eyes, while Lavigne’s Elvis Presley-style take on Blue Christmas prompted gales of laughter. His penultimate song was Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah and his final song was a rollicking version of God Keep Ye Merry Gentlemen. It was a very entertaining way to spend a Sunday evening and the audience rewarded them with a well-deserved standing ovation.
I, and I am sure most other members of the audience, hope to see them again next year.
Here are a few photos from the concert:
