STARTS TONIGHT: Summoning the Sun @ Mermaid Inn

The Mermaid Playwright Theater is one of the many monthly activities that take place "high atop Mt. Airy" as they used to say - or is it at the foot of Chestnut Hill? Either way this historic tavern just beyond the trolley loop at Cresheim and Germantown hosts a surprising number of recurring cultural events like song swaps, bluegrass jams and on the third Tuesdays the MPT gathers to render a one act play by a local playwright; direction and acting local as well. For the second year the group takes up the challenge of making an ancient tradition entertaining today.

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STARTS TONIGHT: Summoning the Sun @ Mermaid Inn

POSTED: Monday, December 12, 2011, 3:30 PM

Filed Under: Music

The Mermaid Playwright Theater is one of the many monthly activities that take place “high atop Mt. Airy” as they used to say — or is it at the foot of Chestnut Hill? Either way this historic tavern just beyond the trolley loop at Cresheim and Germantown hosts a surprising number of recurring cultural events like song swaps, bluegrass jams and on the third Tuesdays the MPT gathers to render a one act play by a local playwright; direction and acting local as well. For the second year the group takes up the challenge of making an ancient tradition entertaining today.

The tradition in question comes over from Ireland and the UK, dating back through the mists of time, popularly created and performed holiday skits have been a staple of the season. There is always a mixture of contemporary characters, some to be cheered, others to be booed, the sun fades and is revived. You get the picture, the cycle of the year and life writ large and comical. Summoning the Sun, as this evening’s entertainment is titled, is based on the only known mummer’s play preserved in Kentucky, adapted by John Krumm. He tells us that it was performed for a school teacher in 1930 who transcribed the show, one the community said hadn’t been trotted out for 30 years prior. Krumm himself used to lead a merry band of mummers in holiday hijinks for almost a decade, “we would invade people’s homes and public spaces...” he recalls almost wistfully of his energetic youth and the loveable foolishness that ensued. As the musical director for the production, Krumm works wonders with just guitar and bass and nine enthusiastic voices. Plus yours, as you will often be encouraged to be part of the entertainment, as is the tradition.

Cassandra Morabito, the show’s producer, explains that the evening is really a variety show, singing and dancing, poetry and prose. Prior to the traditional farce is a small play with lots of audience participation: caroling, including the Twelve Days done YMCA style and a chance to learn to dance the Lambeth Walk along with the players. If you are in the mood for sentimental Christmas gatherings, lots of love and goodwill, this should get you there. Stand by, in the second half, for a reading of the entire Longfellow poem in all its antiwar ardor, one that is usually presented in a shortened, much cheerier carol as “I Heard the Bells.”

The second annual Winter Solstice Celebration, Summoning The Sun, a evening of singing, music, dance and mummery. Starts tonight. Runs Dec. 12, 13 and 14; dinner at 6 p.m., show at 7:30; $20 advance, Mermaid Inn, 7673 Winston Rd. E-mail John Cameron at hotfeat@verizon.net to reserve your seat. More info at themermaidinn.net.

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