Emerson Collins, left, and his partner in life and onstage, Blake
McIver Ewing, bring their Christmas cabaret to Uptown Players
RICH LOPEZ | Staff Writer
Rich@DallasVoice.com
Uptown Players is having quite the holiday season this month. First, the company kicks off its festivities — not to mention its new season — with A Queer Carol, opening Friday, Dec. 6, and running through Dec. 15. The show is under the direction of B.J. Cleveland and stars Patrick Bynane, Stephanie Felton, Doug Fowler.
The show is a retelling of the Charles Dickens classic — but, you know, gay.
This adaptation is written by Joe Godfrey, and it reimagines Scrooge as “Ben” Scrooge, a wealthy interior decorator estranged from everybody. Through visits from the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future, Scrooge has to confront his life choices and relationships, especially with his former partner, Jake Marley.
When that door closes, a cabaret opens — on Dec. 17.
Uptown Players will present Christmas Actually, the cabaret show created by Emerson Collins and Blake McIver Ewing who presented their show I Dreamed a Dreamgirl in 2022 at Uptown Players.
Now the two return with a new show that will deck the halls of the Kalita Humphreys Theater for one night only. As the two ready their show for the Dallas audience, they took some questions from Dallas Voice about the show and how Christmas is kind of a big deal for these two.
Dallas Voice: Let’s start with how you describe your new show. Emerson Collins: Christmas Actually is our love letter to the great music of the holiday season. It’s earnest and sincere, with some of our very favorite classic songs and modern Christmas anthems built into a bunch of fun medleys and duets.
It’s also more than a little silly with some fun surprises, unnecessary impressions and costume changes as we journey through our loves and, let’s say, dislikes, of the holidays. The characters — well, Emerson is a bit of a flaily talker and Blake is a polished professional.
How did this piece come about? After the success of our I Dreamed A Dreamgirl tour, we had a theater ask if we had a holiday show. We did a big, long holiday livestream in the lockdowns on Emerson’s birthday, Dec. 20, so we jumped off from there, thinking
about what would be a fun night of great music and giggles.
Are you both big Christmas fans or is there some truth to the characters and your real selves? There is some truth to it. I come from a “Christmas is a sport” kind of family, and Blake worked so much professionally as a kid that Christmas Eve and Day were usually work days, singing 12 Christmas Eve candlelight services. It’s safe to say Blake has come around, he gave in to colored lights on the Christmas tree instead of looking like a perfect department store display!
But we’re going to lean a little harder into the differences for the fun of the show! (Also, Blake leans into it on purpose for amusement since I’m kind of obnoxious about Christmas.)
How long did it take to finish the piece from inception to the first performance? You could say this show has been several years in the making. We built all of the medleys and harmonies over a long period of time, and then Blake created the tracks. We kept adding things as inspiration struck.
Christmas and pop culture are so intertwined. Where did you find inspiration when creating this show? It really did start from the “Is Love Actually a Christmas movie?” conversation that happens everywhere. Blake’s not really a Christmas person, but Love Actually is his favorite Christmas movie. So the way Love Actually gets incorporated into the show was the centerpiece that launched the idea.
From there, it’s just our favorite songs and voices of the holidays. From The Carpenters, Nat King Cole and Barbra to Kelly Clarkson, The Jonas Brothers and Kacey Musgraves.
How did you like doing a holiday specific show, and do you foresee future holiday editions? Honestly, it’s thrilling. The truly best part of the holidays is creating reasons to spend time with the people you most enjoy. Holiday parties, outings to look at Christmas lights, shopping to find something special that particularly fits someone in your life.
This is absolutely something we’d love to keep doing.
For tickets to A Queer Carol and Christmas Actually, visit UptownPlayers.org.