New 'king Island' Musical Aims To Be 1st U.s. Christmas Classic

FIT FOR A KING: What do "The Nutcracker," "A Christmas Carol," "The Messiah," and "Amahl And The Night Visitors" have in common, other than that they're all Christmas musical classics?

It's this: Out of the entire group, none of these works is American in origin.

But the creators of new holiday oratorio "King Island Christmas," based on a true story about a remote Alaskan community pulling together during a treacherous winter storm, are working to ensure that their very American piece will take its place among those hallowed European forebears.

Written by librettist Deborah B. Brevoort, who lived in Alaska for 15 years, and composer David Friedman, who worked as conductor/arranger for Disney's "Beauty And The Beast," "Aladdin," "Pocahontas," and "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame," "King Island Christmas" was first performed in 1997 at Juneau's Perseverance Theatre (where Brevoort was artistic director).

The soundtrack album, on the production company's own label, King Island Record Co. of New York, came out last year. It has been sold at venues where the oratorio is staged and is also available through Amazon.com and at "selected stores, including Christmas and gift shops," says "King Island's" New York-based associate producer, Marian Rivman.

The King Island Record Co. is currently concentrating on finding widespread distribution and/or a major-label partner for the soundtrack. "We feel like we're carrying the oomiak over the mountain, but we believe quality will win out," says Rivman.

She's referring to a key plot element. The inhabitants of King Island, in the Arctic-storm-tossed Bering Sea, band together to transport said oomiak—a walrus-skin Inuit boat—over a mountain to retrieve sorely needed provisions, along with a beloved priest who will say Christmas Mass.

This year, 20 U.S. cities will stage "King Island Christmas," which helps get the word out, says Rivman. Plus, a series of four invitation-only performances will be presented in October in New York, and Rivman says PBS will air a filmed version of "King Island Christmas" in 2001.

The album itself features a number of Broadway stars, including Tony winner Chuck Cooper ("The Life") and Tony nominee Marin Mazzie, and other familiar faces (among them Paolo Montalban of Disney's Whitney Houston-starring "Cinderella" and J.K. Simmons of the HBO series "Oz"). It was recorded in New York with Friedman conducting a 36-piece orchestra; Brevoort was in attendance as well.

Noting that no corners were cut in recording the soundtrack, Rivman observes that more money was lavished on the "King Island Christmas" soundtrack than is typical for Broadway cast recordings. Response to the soundtrack has been very positive, she says. "The music was written to be very accessible, and it is. People are singing along with it by the end of the performance."

Brevoort based "King Island Christmas" on the brief children's book of the same name by Alaskan author Jean Rogers; Rivman says, "The first time she read it, she heard music, but she tried three unsuccessful collaborations to put it to music before she hooked up with David Friedman."

The grass-roots word-of-mouth about "King Island Christmas" began to take off in 1998, after the then president of the American Library Assn. (ALA), who was Alaskan, saw the oratorio at the Perseverance Theatre.

"She was so enamored of it, she decided to make it the centerpiece of the ALA's fall meeting," says Rivman. "Consequently, hundreds of librarians saw it and fell in love with it, went back to their community theaters, and said, 'You've got to do this.' " Community theaters were only too happy to comply, according to Rivman. "They're all 'Nutcrackered' and 'Christmas Caroled' to death."

Rivman says "King Island Christmas" has not only quality but uniqueness in its favor. "When was the last time an entertainment piece came out of Alaska?" she says. "We've planted a lot of seeds, and we think 'King Island Christmas' will grow geometrically."

She notes that a touring company will take the show on the road next year; radio airings are planned, and "the wife of an Alaskan senator is trying to get 'King Island Christmas' to be part of the Winter Special Olympics there." A number of cities are staging the oratorio in the off-season, she notes.

Still, as Rivman says, "It's a seasonal piece"—but that's considered a strength. "In one respect, it makes it harder to build an audience," she says. "On the other hand, it gets to be repeated year after year after year."