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Symphony, PacRep, museum offer holiday show
Actress and singer Malinda DeRouen Mueller stars in Virtual Holi- day Spectacular that premiers on Christmas Eve. (Photo: Virginia Marine)
On a High Note
TEAMING UP to celebrate the season while staying safe, Monterey Symphony, PacRep Theatre and Monterey County Youth Museum present a free Virtual Holiday Spectacular that will be available for streaming beginning at 1 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
The musical talent for the family-friendly show includes actress and singer Malinda DeRouen Mueller, French horn players Alicia Mastromonaco and Caitlyn Smith-Franklin, and trombonist Will Baker, who will all play Christmas favorites.
"It's unabashedly holiday music," co-host and Monterey Symphony executive director Nicola Reilly told The Pine Cone.
The lineup also includes local entrepreneur and influencer Maddox Haberdasher, who will present a dramatic reading of the classic, "Twas the Night Before Christmas."
Mueller has an impressive local theater resume. Her credits with PacRep include "Newsies," "The Little Mermaid" and "Spamalot." She recently released an album of holiday favorites.
"She's no stranger to any stage here," Reilly said. "She played in 'Evita' last year for the Western Stage, and she's also performed in 'Beach Blanket Babylon,' in San Francisco."
A member of the Monterey Symphony, Mastromonaco just expanded her role with the Carmel-based group.
"She our new education coordinator," Reilly explained. "She's finishing up her PhD in Music, and she's soon be Dr. Mastromonaco."
Baker, meanwhile, opened the symphony's Balcony Sessions series of concerts in August.
In March, the leaders of three local nonprofits — Reilly, PacRep's Stephen Moorer, and the museum's Lauren Cohen — began talking about how the groups could collaborate. "We had a vision to put on a holiday show," Reilly told The Pine Cone.
The filming of the show was set to happen in the museum Dec. 17-18, but it was moved up a week when the organizers learned of the latest coronavirus shutdown.
Most of it was completed by Dec. 11, while the two French horn players recorded their parts remotely from Berkeley earlier this week.
To watch the show, visit montereysymphony.org.