Singers put on sacred and silly Christmas recital at St. Mary’s

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 5 December 2013 at 12:00 am

Photos by Tom Rivers – Twin sisters Sam Hill, left, and Sarah, both 23 and from Middleport, sing “Silent Night” during tonight’s recital at St. Mary’s Athletic Club in Albion.

A singer who goes by “Daddy Cool” performs “Celebrate Me Home.”

St. Mary’s Athletic Club hosted “A Little Bit of Christmas Recital” tonight at the Moore Street site in Albion. Performers mixed the sacred – “Silent Night” and “O’ Holy Night” – with some silly songs, such as “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.”

Eight performers sang 16 songs as part of the show by JNS Productions, which is led by Albion residents Nick Russo and Shellane Bailey.

This is their second effort at St. Mary’s. In August their first production was a Broadway revue. (Click here for previous story.) Tonight and Friday the show includes Christmas songs.

Albion native Lance Anderson hams it up while singing “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.”

“We had a really good response to the first one,” Russo said. “We want to keep building on it.”

Russo and Bailey would like to do two or three different productions a year in Albion.

Many of the performers at the Dec. 5-6 shows were part of the cast in Les Miserables. The Lake Plains Players performed that show in October. (Click here to see previous article.)

Jake Hayes of Albion sings “O’ Holy Night” during a Christmas recital in Albion.

Albion native Lance Anderson had the lead role, Jean Valjean, in Les Miserables. Anderson lives in Spencerport. He said he is grateful for a chance to keep performing with the production in Albion.

“There aren’t enough opportunities for people to perform,” Anderson said. “We need more things like this in the area.”

Tickets are available at the door for the Dec. 6 show, which begins at 7:30 p.m. St. Mary’s is located at 538 Moore St.