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A full sleigh of Broadway songs will be performed at holiday musical. (The Observer/LAURA MACKIE-HANCOCK).

By Jeff Petersen

Observer Staff Writer

Take a trip down Broadway without leaving the comfy confines of the Grande Ronde Valley.

"A Broadway Christmas" opens tonight at Mckenzie Theatre, Loso Hall, Eastern Oregon University campus.

"Come and start the season off right," invites Denise Wheeler, director.

Proceeds raised will go to the theater department to pay for possible American College Theater Federation events and a possible trip to Ashland for the Shakespearean Festival.

Wheeler, you might remember, played Sister Amnesia in "Nunsense" at last summer's debut of Theater in the Ronde. Among her directing credits are "Fantastiks," "Our Town," "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" and "Newsies."

She said a lot of schools and churches do shows this time of year with traditional holiday music, and "A Broadway Christmas" should add some spice to the cider.

A full sleigh of Broadway songs will be performed. They include "We Need a Little Christmas" from the musical "Mame," and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" from the movie "Meet Me in St. Louis" as famously sung by the irrepressible Judy Garland.

Oh yes, and you'll also hear two songs from the musical "Scrooge: The Stingiest Man in Town," to wit: "Yes, There is a Santa Claus" and "Birthday Party of the King."

The cast will be performing songs from Tony Award-winning musicals "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and "Hairspray."

You may "Forget about the Boy," but you won't forget the surprises the cast has in store, Wheeler promises.

And that's not all.

You'll also hear a rip-roaring number from the musical Shenandoah, "Next to Loving I Love Fighting" and the fun non-Broadway song "Grandma Got Run over by a Reindeer."

But not all is fun and games for Wheeler and cast. The director is all business when it comes to selecting the program.

"What I do is wait until people audition and then pick songs to fit their voices," she says.

In preparation for opening night, she believes in pushing the actors and actresses to reach their full potential.

"Push people to reach beyond what they think they're capable of and they respond well," she says. "In a lot of areas in life, people just don't push enough."

The result of a low bar is low achievements, she says. Raise the bar and achievements rise accordingly.

Wheeler expects quality despite short preparation time. The cast

couldn't start rehearsing until after the Thanksgiving holiday.

"I'm a true theater person in that I believe there's never such a thing as too much time to prepare," she says.

The cast should be ready, though, to give a 90-minute show that puts the egg in the nog, the red in Rudolph's nose and a little skip in Santa's step, if Wheeler has her way.