O Wondrous Night … Indeed
Last night we ventured out to take a look at SeaWorld’s Christmas Celebration. This year was a little different as our kids weren’t with us. One now lives in Kentucky and the other is at college. It felt a little strange but we were looking forward to seeing what SeaWorld had on offer this year as SeaWorld President Terry Prather had been goading me for several months that this would be the best yet. All I can say is that he wasn’t wrong… and yes, Terry, you and the team delivered…superbly.
Our family is fortunate to live in Orlando and this time of year is always a fantastic place to be when the holiday season gets started. Naturally, we take in everything there is on offer, from the large theme parks to the smaller events at other not so well known places. Of course, we say we do this in the interests of research and to be able to advise the guests staying in our vacation homes of where to go and what to see, but secretly we also enjoy visiting all of these events!
The SeaWorld Christmas Celebration is one of those events that has evolved over the years. A few years ago you’d put it someway down the list of places you had to see at this time of year but not anymore…not by a long shot! Frankly, this has become the “MUST SEE” event and in my opinion, it really has become the best celebration of Christmas there is in the Orlando area.
In tomorrow’s blog I’ll talk more about the overall experience at SeaWorld this year but today I’m going to concentrate on the new show that is being featured in the Nautilus Theater… “O Wondrous Night.”
O Wondrous Night, is a superb nativity show that tells the classic story of the birth of Christ with a modern and contemporary twist. The show remains completely respectful of the original storyline but this time it’s the animals telling the story! The show has over 30 carols that are superbly delivered while the dancing, puppetry and live animals combine to deliver a really touching, light-hearted and glorious celebration that all the family will enjoy.
It’s not often you’ll see a standing ovation at a theme park performance but the cast truly delivers an amazing broadway style production and that’s exactly what happened last night. The team is led by Michael Fletcher,Vice President of Entertainment, (pictured above left with Terry Prather – SeaWorld Orlando President – middle and Toni Caracciolo – Vice President of Marketing – right), Scott Hitz of Monkey Boys Productions (who have designed, directed and performed for productions such as Miss Saigon, The Little Prince, Suessical the Musical, Rugrats LIVE!, Avenue Q and many more) , BT McNicholl, (pictured above right) Show Director and Co-Writer, who has Broadway credits for Billy Elliot, Cabaret and Spamalot among others and Beh Cohn, Musical Director, who has worked on several Broadway shows including 25th Annual Putham Country Spelling Bee, 9 to 5, Woman in White and Wonderful Town.
There really is no star of the show as all involved contribute enormously to the story line and to delivering an incredible performance that builds to a crescendo that eventually culminates when camels, donkeys, sheep and other animals are brought through the audience to the stage. This show is an absolute must see and it’s worth the entrance fee to the SeaWorld park alone.
Make sure you get to the theater at least 30 minutes ahead of time as the show will fill up quickly and then prepare yourself for something very very special!
Tomorrow’s blog will feature an in-depth look at the SeaWorld Orlando Christmas Celebration… more photos are at Facebook.com/FloridaLeisure and here’s some video from last night’s O Wonderous Night performance.
[trafficplayer_youtube_video width=”540″ height=”385″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/8fjcK8zzhuw?&autohide=0&controls=1&hd=1&rel=0&showinfo=1″ ][/trafficplayer_youtube_video]
