Two sided Christmas

“And the money's coming in and the money's coming in…I'm loving Christmas lot because the money's coming in…" Magical music, vibrant dancing, immense talent, originality and warm camaraderie…is all part and parcel of Christmas Inc. due to go on boards at the Lionel Wendt, at 7.30 pm from December 14 – 16.

Produced and presented by the Freshly Brewed Theatre (FBT), Christmas Inc. is an original musical comedy, written by Marissa Johnpillai, arranged by Daniel Johnpillai and directed by Surein de S. Wijeyeratne. The musical was choreographed by Shanuki de Alwis, while the Assistant Producer is Dominic Johnpillai.

"Sometimes I just tend to make up songs and if it sticks in my head, it's generally good," says Marissa. It was almost organic; it just kept growing from song to song, she added. At first, it was all songs and hardly any dialogue at all."It was more like the musical just "happened" and I just "happened" to be there when it did," she said laughingly. "I had a vague idea as to how I wanted it to sound but, it was mostly my two brothers that took me through the next phase. They got all excited about the whole thing and starting working on the music," said Marissa.

"Personally I hate how commercial and stressful Christmas has become now. The whole build-up to Christmas is quite chaotic and crazy, what with the frenzied shopping, cleaning and visiting relations etc., that nobody has time to just kick back and really enjoy the season and celebrate what it's truly about," explained Marissa. But that essentially is no big secret she says adding, everyone knows that Christmas now is way too commercial and say that we should put "Christ back into Christmas" etc., which is why, Christmas Inc. is not solely to do with the commercialization of Christmas but rather, many themes intertwined.

She also loves many of the traditional old Christmas carols, which is one of the main reasons she's interspersed some of her absolute favourites into the musical, elaborates Marissa. "I also think the story of the Nativity is the most beautiful and amazing story ever and so re-telling the age-old story too, was an absolute must," said Marissa enthusiastically.

"Basically Akki (Marissa) gave me an idea of melodies she had in her head - my job was to make songs out of these melodies, write vocal and rehearsal scores, and later orchestral scores. We've taken little snippets of a few commercial Christmas "songs" (such as "Winter Wonderland," "Jingle Bell Rock") and a few other carols, which feature throughout the play," said Daniel. It mirrors the struggle between the two sides of Christmas which is the theme of the production, he added.

There is a huge range of musical styles on show...from big band numbers to Bollywood, and even Baila, he said. "That's the great thing about having an original score, you can take it virtually anywhere you want," he added enthusiastically. In terms of orchestration, there will be a 10-man band featuring a string section, flute, trumpet, french horn, bass, drums, keyboards and guitar. "There's nothing like live music and we're fortunate to have musicians who have been kind enough to oblige us," he said gratefully.

In relation to the writing and arranging process, "I initially worked with the music in 2004 when we did Star Rising In the East, although it was quite rushed! Since then lots of new exciting music has been added and the biggest challenge to be honest, was trying to understand the melody of the songs when Akki sang them to me (imagine hearing a melody for the first time, without any sort of chords or context) and then creating a context for it that fits the tune," explained Daniel. As rehearsals started of course, things have been 'cut and chopped' constantly, so the music is very fluid, never definitively finished," he elaborated.

"It's been really good fun but, it's also been a lot tougher than normal, because it's an original script. Therefore there was absolutely nothing to work off. We had to create the entire play from scratch," said Surein. This made life much more complicated and required so much more time and effort, he added.

However, everything from the basic theme, music and whole idea of the play is very simple, it needed quite a honest effort to pull it through. Also, most of the cast (except for the seniors) are completely new to theatre and have hardly any major theatre experience, so it was quite a challenge at first, added Surein.

"As for the play itself though, it draws from all our Christmas related experiences," he said, adding, "singing here, singing there, traffic jams, shopping…everything's an absolute nightmare." It's part of that frustration that's depicted in the play in a lighter vein, even though it has a serious undertone, added Surein. "It's not just about money, it's about the many problems of the very social fabric we're a part of; how we're so consumed and pre-occupied by everything material," elaborated Surein. And especially from a Christian perspective, how we tend not to focus on what Christmas is all about, he said. "The play is sort of like a spoof on Christmas, where the characters on stage are you and I," he added.

Rohan, Mohan and Bob (the three Wise Men and/or Kings cum Shepherds cum Puppeteers) were next up on the "hot-seat" and boy…did I get more than I bargained for! When asked to describe themselves individually, I soon discovered that Rohan was in fact a staunch classically trained "Act-or", Mohan – a drama school classmate of Rohan's, who admires him greatly and Bob – who is a "C" grade actor dragged in at the last minute, who's real name is Desmond Lakshman Kahapolarachchi!

This being established I was told that the trio's primary role is to be providers of "Comic Relief" throughout the production."We're notorious for making a mess of things and adlibbing outrageously," says Gehan Cooray (a.k.a. Rohan). “They are also famous for taking existing songs and doing their own renditions of it,” he said. "However, it's only as the story unfolds, that I start to realise that this play is way beneath my theatrical prowess," he adds melodramatically.

"We act as the link connecting the past with the present," adds Ashan Dias (or "Bob" his stage name). "Bob" being constantly confused is further frenzied when he discovers half-way through the play that they don't get paid for acting. Mohan acts as the very diplomatic middle-man who keeps his two fellow counterparts from killing each other!

Speaking to "King Herod" himself, Ruveen Dias says "being king is just fun! Some of the music in this production sounds very 'Disney-ish' and I seem just like a Disney villain at times, but, I'd like to think I'm somewhat of a likable character though," he said with a smile. Switches back and forth between the Biblical King and a modern day media mogul, Ruveen says "I've never worked with so many kids before but, it's been an excellent stress reliever," he admits. Even the musical is quite light, it manages to convey the serious theme quite effectively, adds Ruveen.

The musical merges Colombo today with biblical Bethlehem and draws a parallel between the search for reason and worth in our actions. Star Inc. – the fictional multinational corporation that controls numerous businesses in modern-day Sri Lanka, is owned and micro-managed by Herod, who is by the way also ruler of Judea at the turn of the First century AD.

At this time of year in both time periods, couples are on the move – whether for a census, or to visit family in December. It also is a time of glad tidings and great cha-ching for many businesses. In the midst of marital bickering and financial ups and downs, the angels herald the nativity – but does anyone care?

Tickets are available at the Lionel Wendt. All proceeds from the performances will be divided equally between three worthy charities selected by FBT. A shuttle service will be available to and from Maitland Crescent on all show nights.