Notes of the holidays

Published 5:00 pm Saturday, November 26, 2011

Despite the absence of Veldman  and Friends, Paramount is still offering plenty of sounds for the season

Five By Design will present “Radio Holly Days” at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 16. - Photo provided

If it seems like something is missing from the early holiday season, that’s because there is — at least at Austin’s Paramount Theatre.

The popular holiday show Michael Veldman and Friends came to a close last year after being a fan favorite with Austin audiences since 2001.

Long lines waited outside the Paramount for tickets to the show the day they went on sale, and six shows sold about 550 tickets each — essentially a sellout.

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Paramount staff admits it’s a tough act to replace.

“It’s really hard because they’re irreplaceable,” Scott Anderson, general manager, said. “I might be overstating it, but I don’t think so. They touched a nerve in a town. It’s a real testament to the four of them, the amount of time they spent.”

Still, Anderson said the Paramount has the chance to host a variety of events this year that wouldn’t have been possible had the Veldmans come back for another year.

“Now we’re having to do some different stuff, and we’ve got some wonderful shows coming up,” Anderson said.

 An Austin phenomenon

After their first year, the Veldmans quickly gained a local following. The Austin natives were unique in that music wasn’t a career.

Though they’d do a few concerts outside the holiday season, the Christmas shows at the Paramount were the main shows they did during the year.

“It was a phenomenon really,” Anderson said. “It would be so fun to find something to replace them.”

The shows were often described as Branson-style performances.

The shows featured a different theme each year. One year, they were snowbound in a New York hotel. Another year, they were on a cruise line and paid homage to Gilligan’s Island. All the Christmas songs and scripts would stem from the theme.

One year, the show featured confetti canons, which Anderson joked didn’t make him a popular figure.

“Our volunteers hated me,” he said, noting the volunteers had to clean up the mess.

“There was a consensus that it was really fun, but don’t you ever do it again,” he added.

For the second half of each show, the theme to sing more traditional Christmas Carols.

Along with the themes, the Veldmans also incorporated elaborate stage decorations.

“Their production value was huge,” Anderson said. “Their sets were huge.”

With all the decorations and themes, the shows required quite a bit of preparation.

“It’s an incredible amount of work for them,” Anderson said.

Now, the Veldmans are done, and many people are hoping they’ll come back. While Anderson would welcome them back, he said he’d be surprised if they returned for a reunion in the next few years.

It’s also unlikely there could be one act to replace the show’s success.

“We would love to find another group like that, but I don’t know if we really could,” Anderson said.

In fact, Anderson said many agents and music people he’s talked with have been impressed that a locally-originated show would sell 550 tickets each night of a six-show run.

The shows were typically held in early December over two weekends.

“It was a lot of work for them, a lot of singing,” he said. “But it was worth it. It was very successful.”

He also said the Veldman’s had a special arrangement with the Paramount and were quite generous with ticket sales.

“We still miss them a lot, because they were just a tradition,” Anderson said.

While the Paramount may have lost the homerun with the Veldmans, the theater will feature more smaller shows.

“We have the opportunity to have more shows because they’re not taking up all that time with rehearsals and doing theirs,” Anderson said. “In that regard, we were able to do more different things.”

 A 2011 holiday kickoff

After Christmas in the City and Katie McMahon kicked off the holidays Friday and Saturday, there’s still plenty to come at the Paramount.

One of the Paramount’s featured holiday shows will be “Radio Holly Days” by Five By Design at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 16.

“It’ll be a really nice show,” Anderson said.

The show will pay homage to the 1940s and World War II.

“It has that tie to what we call the Greatest Generation,” he said.

While Anderson said the show will appeal to a wide audience, it will especially appeal to people from the Greatest Generation.

Along with the show, there will be a V.I.P. dinner held before the show at the Hormel Historic Home. Tickets will be $45 for both the concert and dinner.

The dinner starts with a silent auction at 5 p.m. and the meal is served at 5:30. Transportation will be provided to the Paramount.

Tickets for just the concert are $15 in advance and $17 at the door.

 In memorial

The annual Christmas in the City show at the Paramount was a little bit different this year.

Rather than hosting both the St. Lucia Festival and the scenes from “The Nutcracker,” the Christmas in the City show only featured “The Nutcracker” put on by Jane Taylor Academy of Dance.

Organizers of St. Lucia planned to end the festival in Austin, but a tragedy changed that. Now, the festival will return 7 p.m. Dec. 11 at the Paramount to honor the memory of Darren Lewis.

“They decided to have a tribute to him,” Anderson said.

“It’ll be a wonderful tribute,” he added.

The show will feature a taste of Sweden, as a foreign exchange student is set to play the title role.

“She’s really excited and very honored,” Anderson said.

Jane Taylor Academy of Dance will help with the St. Lucia show.

The Ernest Murphy Memorial Concert 7 p.m. Dec. 3, to honor the man who died from cancer a few years ago.

The concert has been held for multiple years, but this will be the first time it’s held at the Paramount.

 Comedy Christmas

Comedy troupe Deer Camp with return with “Holy Bells” at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10.

“It’s low-brow humor,” Anderson said. “Nothing wrong with that.”

Tickets are $23 in advance and $26 at the door.

 Closing the holidays

The holiday season will close with a country show produced by Denny Charnecki and the DC Drifters at 7:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.