A Christmas musical

THE SEASON of great joy and goodwill. Yes, the festive period of Christmas is upon us. This is the jubilee year of Christmas - 2000 years of the birth of Jesus Christ. Perhaps one of the first to be off the mark in the Advent season, the Mellow Circle, an association started in Chennai a couple of months ago, staged the Christmas musical play, ``Born Today'', recently at the Museum Theatre. It was as good as a musical with 16 choral pieces and solos interspersed in the enactment of the birth of the Saviour Christ. The 44-strong choir was ably conducted by Prof. Winfred Chelliah.

Interestingly, the playwright Joyce M. Peel, a British, penned the script while in Madras 25 years ago. Today she resides in Coonoor.

The programme opened with the gracious words of introduction by one of the choristers, Dinah Oommen Athyal. Then wafted in the gentle strains of ``2000 years ago'', composed and performed by Icy George who donned the Pastor's role. Throughout the play, set inside a church, a conversation ensues between Gabriel, played by Koshi Philip, and Satan (George Thomas) where they debate on the different aspects of the birth of Baby Jesus. The devil goes to the root of the problem in present day worship and the rituals followed by the Christians of today. Modern and how?! The costumes were strikingly casual. On the other hand, the uniform of the choir and their discipline on stage were noteworthy?

The little children, who acted as shepherds, clambered up on stage from below in a seemingly spontaneous move. There were several such small touches which enhanced the dramatic appeal.

The choral compositions were compiled by Winfred Chelliah, the conductor of the choir. A judicious mix of chorales and carols were fitted in appropriately to form the core of the show.

The amplification was exemplary, thanks to Sudhin Prabhakar. The sets were done tastefully by Elias Koshy who also doubled up as a singer (bass) in the choir.Thomas Philip and Prakash Mathew directed the play under the guidance of Michael Muthu. In sum, while the cast did justice to acting, the choir did so to the music, the play was a resounding success. Excellent debut, Mellow Circle.

SELINE AUGUSTINE

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