Every year during the holiday season I tend to listen to a few musical recordings with a holiday theme. A couple of those musicals are Elf and Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. However, one of the holiday themed recordings that tend to be overlooked is the recording of Kris Kringle. This musical made its New York premiere in 2017. The cast features Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Nikki Renée Daniels and Kim Crosby. The music from Kris Kringle is fun and infused with heartwarming songs that are wonderfully performed. I have really enjoyed listening to the music from this show written by Tim Janis and Angelo Natalie. Kris Kringle: The Musical is a wonderful addition to anyone’s holiday music collection.
Kris Kringle: The Musical is a holiday musical for new generations. It tells the story of a young, optimistic toymaker, Kris Kringle, “who crosses paths with an evil New York City toy company CEO and finds himself wrapped up in a magical curse with the power to destroy Christmas. From the top of the world in the North Pole, Kris Kringle teams up with Santa and Mrs. Claus, the beautiful Evelyn Noel, a band of hilarious Apprentices and Elves, and magical Toys to remind us what Christmas is really about.” The songs from the musical are sincere, energetic and full of heart.
I found this recording filled with many fun and energetic numbers, in addition to a number of very heart-warming ballads. One of the songs on this recording that I found energetic and replete with entertaining lyrics is the song, “Skip Ba Doo.” The song is about how the apprentice toymaker[s] feel about Kris Kringle and how they think he is the greatest toymaker. It is an upbeat song, and the lyrics with stay with you throughout your day. One of my favorite ballads on the recording is the song, “Something Wonderful in You” beautifully performed by Kim Crosby. The song is about how Mrs. Claus encourages Kris not to give up on his dream, and she sees the love in his heart. She sings: “Give your heart a chance to believe/There is something wonderful in you.” It is a gorgeous song. The last song I want to write about is “Pathway Through” wonderfully performed by Andrew Kennan-Bolger and Mary Stout. This is such an uplifting song in which Grandma Kringle reminds Kris that “There is always a pathway through/Just take a step at a time.” I really love the sentiment of this particular song. Kris Kringle: The Musical is a welcome addition to any holiday music collection. The music is frolicsome and provides a great message, in addition the entire cast of the show is stellar.
Kris Kringle: The Musical is available for purchase through Yellow Sound Label. Please visit www.yellowsoundlabel.com/album/kris-kringle-the-musical-studio-cast-recording/ for more information and to purchase this recording.
Kelli Curtin is founding editor and writer for theatresensation.com. She has maintained a love of the performing arts since a very early age and she is excited to share her passion about theatre and the Arts with her readers. Kelli can be found on Twitter, Facebook and on Instagram
