2022 Christmas Revels

Experience The Christmas Revels from the comfort of your own home!
On-Demand Tickets make great Hanukkah and Christmas gifts!

Friends and neighbors living in a 19th-century “hollow” gather to prepare for “Old Christmas,” and the coming of the New Year. As the holidays draw close, they share music, the warm family rituals that reflect their ancestral roots, and stories of the journeys that led them to their Appalachian home. Scottish, Irish, German, Appalachian, and African American musical influences create a rich, uniquely American mash-up of toe-tapping reels, lush ballads and soaring spirituals, all culminating in a joyous Cèilidh and “breakin’ up Christmas.” 

Join Washington Revels to celebrate the season with rousing carol sing-alongs—including a rollicking “Twelve Days of Christmas,” a new “old” Mummers play featuring characters from many traditions, and dancing in the aisles with our multigenerational cast of 80. Enjoy songs of the Old World and new by local favorites the Whiskey Before Breakfast Band; the Highland pipes, great and small; and the majestic sounds of the Washington Revels Brass. 

In-person performances are done, but you can still watch The Christmas Revels on demand (see above).

2022 Guest Artists

Catherine Flye*, Gran

Catherine graduated from London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and since moving to the United States, has worked extensively in the Washington DC metropolitan area, writing, acting and directing. Acting credits include principal roles at Arena Stage, The Shakespeare Theatre, The Folger Theatre, Signature Theatre,  Ford’s Theatre, Olney Theatre, Round House, Washington Stage Guild, MetroStage, Studio Theatre and the Kennedy Center amongst others.  As Artistic Director of Interact Theatre Company, she has written and produced over 45 commissioned plays and entertainments integrating the performing arts commissioned by such organizations as The National Archives, The National Gallery of Art, The Corcoran, The Smithsonian Institution, Washington’s National Cathedral, The Library of Congress, The Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Supreme Court of the United States of America.   She has been nominated thirteen times for Washington’s Helen Hayes Awards and her production of The Pirates of Penzance won the Award for Outstanding Musical.  She is a recipient of The Mary Goldwater Award for her contribution to theatre in the Washington metropolitan area, and in 2019 she received the Anderson Hopkins Award for Excellence in the Theatre Arts.

*The Actor appears through the courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

Whiskey Before Breakfast Band

Local musicians Robert LaRose (fiddle, mandolin, bones), Abbie Mulberg (flute, whistles), Jonathan Mulberg (percussion) and Jackie Owen (guitar, Appalachian dulcimer) are members of the seven-person Irish group Whiskey Before Breakfast Band. The band can be seen performing at local pubs and festivals throughout the D.C. region. Not one to quarantine quietly, Whiskey Before Breakfast Band taught themselves how to make music virtually and started their own YouTube channel. Everything they’ve learned has culminated in the release of their first album Vol 1: At Home. But mostly, they’re thrilled to be making music with the Washington Revels and looking forward to reveling with all of you! (Photo by Erin Sutherland)

Byron L. Thomas, banjo & bones

Byron L. Thomas, a native of Charles County, MD, has been playing music since about 2015 and the banjo since 2016. Byron has also played the psaltery and the lap dulcimer and currently dabbles in other string instruments such as the guitar, mandolin, lap steel guitar, and the bowed dulcimer. He loves a wide range of music and plays what sounds good to him.

Byron started playing the banjo after learning about the African American roots of the instrument. This knowledge propelled him on a personal quest to learn about how the banjo has shaped the rest of American history and the narratives that are shared today. Byron believes that the banjo has played more of a significant part of our collective history than we realize. He also feels that the banjo can be more than just a novelty instrument and that, just like the violin or guitar, it can have whatever voice one feels it should have. He has recently been learning early American music from the turn of the 20th century and mid 1800s. Byron started his public playing by working with the Banjo Project through the Charles County Arts Alliance.

Robert Mitchell, bagpipes

Robert Mitchell is recognized as a performer, instructor, and successful solo competitor in the U.S., Canada, and Scotland. He is also an accomplished musician with over thirty years experience performing extensively throughout the Washington, D.C., Baltimore areas, and nationally, playing the Great Highland Bagpipes and the Scottish Small Pipes.  For the last 8 summers, Robert was an instructor at the North American Academy of Piping in North Carolina.  As recently as 2022, Robert performed The Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise, on stage with the Richmond Symphony.

Breakin’ Up Christmas Brass

The Washington Revels Brass lends its joyful, clarion sound to every Christmas Revels production. Current performers include trumpeters Les Linn and Fred Marcellus, French horn Andrew Houde and trombonists Bryan Bourne and Jeff Gaylord. The ensemble views itself in a certain sense as a microcosm of Revels everywhere: they have their own rituals, traditions, and personality. They differ from every other part of the Revels only in that their ways are largely invisible to all but themselves. (Photo by Alain L. Gutiérrez Almeida)

On-Demand Resources & Tech Info

General Info

• On-Demand Access: Watch anytime, as many times as you like, from Friday, December 23 to Friday, January 6.
• Your ticket link enables access for a single device only.
• This pre-recorded event will play in an online video player. You do not need Zoom to watch.
• The video includes general Closed Captions that can be turned on by clicking the “CC” icon in the video player.

Ticket Information

• Your Revels on-demand access link will be available and sent by Dec 22, 2022. You will not see an access link in your order confirmation email with your e-tickets. If you are unable to find your access link or do not receive it by Dec 22nd, please email tickets@revelsdc.org. Search for “Revels On-demand”  in your inbox (and be sure to check your spam folder). If you still cannot find it, send an email to tickets@revelsdc.org and we will resend your on-demand access link.
• If you purchased tickets for multiple households in a single order, remember to forward the ticket email to each recipient, with instructions for which link they should use (ex. “Dear Susan, please click the second button to watch”).
• Be sure to share this resource page, and our pre-show emails, with anyone you sent tickets to.
• Please remind your guests to contact you if they have issues locating their tickets. Washington Revels will not know which ticket email/link your guests received and we can only reissue tickets to the email address they were purchased with.

Resources for Revelry!

Program & Lyrics:

• You can now download the full Christmas Revels program, including program notes and singalong lyrics. We encourage you to print this in advance.
• If you prefer to print only the audience “All Sings,” you can download/print those below.

Get in the Yuletide Spirit:

Unlike inside the Lisner Auditorium, enjoying food and drinks while you watch the on-demand Christmas Revels is totally up to you! For those seeking a seasonal beverage, here are recipes from our Revels community, including:

• Board Member Bill Conway’s traditional Quoit Club Punch, which he makes for the Washington Revels cast party every year. It serves many and serves them well!
• Three festive treats — wassail, glögg, and egg nog — from the kitchen of Reveler Colin Bills and his mother, Beryl.

Technical Advice & Resources

Resources for Connecting Your Device to a TV:

There are so many different devices and options for viewing The Christmas Revels that we cannot provide one set of instructions. If you would like to watch this event on a larger screen, such as a TV, we have identified several websites that may help. We encourage you to test your viewing setup in advance of the performance.

• Hooking Up to a Smart TV (Windows)
  
• Hooking Up to a Smart TV (Mac)
• Connecting a Phone/Tablet to a Smart TV

If You Need Help:

You can contact Washington Revels Staff for help Monday-Friday at tickets@revelsdc.org or by calling 301-587-3835.

Technology Disclaimer

We understand that our patrons have a wide range of technical savvy and internet capabilities. However, it is the responsibility of the ticket holder to have a reliable internet connection and technical knowledge of the equipment they will be using to watch this event. We realize that technical difficulties may arise and, as noted above, we will do our best to help; however our staff cannot provide in-depth technical support.

Thank you for your understanding.

from Social Media channels

“We’ve been going to Revels since the late 1980’s, It begins my Christmas Season.” – RM (Oct 2022)

“Every year has been great with Revels but 2019 was especially glorious, and the unifying theme is much needed in today’s world. The talent was top notch from top to bottom and throughout the show. It was so heartwarming to be joined together with this large group of people in celebration.” – LF (January 2020)

“This community is full of music, joy, and comfort! It’s my favorite found family.” – RP (April 2022)

“If you have never been to a Revels, you should come. Enrich your heart and your spirit! These performances, this organization has changed my life, and I can’t imagine being without them at the holidays and beyond. There is a place for *you* – as an audience member, a volunteer, or a performer. Come and see for yourself!” – KT (December 2019)

“I recommend Revels because it is a great community, and it is like you are a big family with your cast members. And that is why I recommend Revels.” AH (December 2019)

“Great show! Always wonderful singing, costuming, and community event.” – LW (December 2019)

“So much fun! Great Show!!” – KC (December 2019)

“The Revels give me hope for humanity because we’re all in this together. Attending the Christmas Revels every year for decades now, this enormous public ritual of our fellow travelers on this road of life brings out the goodness and the powerful myths that mark us as humans and remind us that no matter where we’re from, or what our politics are, under those superficial differences we’re all the same.” – NM (October 2022)

“This community is full of music, joy, and comfort! It’s my favorite found family.” – RP (April 2022)

“Great show, wonderful singing and a cheerful start to the Christmas Season!!” – LK2 (December 2021)

“Breathtaking. Thank you” CH (December 2021)

“Personally, I look forward to the Revels every year and consider that the Yuletide season has not been properly celebrated until I go and take part in them. I have brought as many as 10 people with me and have never gone alone. I will say that the few productions that have been less celebratory are not my favorites, and I’m excited to bring my friends to this year’s Celtic Appalachian production. Celebration is what we need! Especially in this time of tumultuous division we all need reminding that politics is temporary, but the Winter Solstice is forever. I will never forget the enormous flaming cauldron and the huge ghostly puppet that walked down the aisle one Revels year. I was transported beyond the ordinary to a truly magical place.” – NM (October 2022)

“We always enjoy these wonderful shows!” – JV (November 2018)

“There is no better way to enter the spirit of the December holiday period.” – DK (October 2018)

“At their 10^th Anniversary webcast, I heard a couple of songs that the deacons used to sing a Capella before the church service started. And a couple of other songs that I haven’t heard since attending “mass meetings” (conducted by The S.S.L.C) and marching for voting rights in Washington county Ga. I also enjoyed hearing Gullah spoken. I am certain; if not for the Jubilee Singers there are people that would never hear this music. Thank you for keeping it alive. That which is remembered never dies.” – KRW (August 2020)

“Wow, friends. There are indeed Angel’s hovering ‘round. I hear them when you sing.” – MC (December 2021)

“You will be glad you did…” – NSS (August 2021)

“The best memories of my whole life!!!” – TJ (March 2021)

“I’ve volunteered for Revels off and on for 22 years. Every Revels performance reminds me that the actors and the audience are – for a magical few hours – truly PARTNERS in sharing joy and good will.” – LW (December 2018)

“Fabulous” – SKH (January 2021)

“Such a beautiful community. I am grateful to have been a part of it.” – CD (June 2020)

from Press Reviews Over the Years

The Washington Post

A better evening’s entertainment, with more variety and spirit, would be hard to find…

…a celebration to make even the most incorrigible Grinch grin.

…one of those rare events that delight people of all ages.

…a perfect vehicle for ushering in a magical time of year.

…a seasonal gift to the community in song, dance, magic, foolery and tradition
…revives elements of the holiday season that don’t go on sale…

The New York Times

…reflects feelings as old as humanity itself…

The San Francisco Chronicle

…creates a communal bridge from darkness to light…