Holiday shows are hard to plan, explains Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus Artistic Director Brayton Bollenbacher.
“You have to have so many songs that the audience knows because it’s the holidays, and everybody wants to feel that nostalgia that goes on during that season,” Bollenbacher said. “Programming becomes more of a challenge for somebody who wants to kind of keep thinking outside of the box, because I don't want to do ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ every year.”
That’s why “Light, Bright, and Gay,” plays with lighting to make the show more visually interesting. The performance includes traditional spiritual songs, secular favorites and some lesser-known surprises. Bollenbacher is excited to include a Hindi early morning raga and the show-ending song, “It’s Lit” by Friend of a Friend.
Bollenbacher designed the holiday show to be fun and flippant. Then, the mood of the LGBTQIA+ community changed after the November election. Bollenbacher said the majority of the queer community is scared.
“And now it's much more about like, 'hey, we can't run.' Our community needs to stick together,” Bollenbacher said. “We have to be proud of who we are and unapologetically, radically be queer.
The holiday show will feature the voices of around 130 singers, a near-record for a Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus performance.
Despite its name, the chorus consists of all members of the queer community, including women, and individuals who identify as non-binary and transgender. Bollenbacher said singers do not have to be members of the LGBTQIA+ community to be part of the chorus.
“Just as long as you believe that queer culture should exist and be vibrant, we want you to sing with us,” Bollenbacher said.
The chorus performs “Light, Bright, and Gay,” at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and on 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the at the Riffe Center’s Speaker Jo Ann Davidson Theatre.
Click here for more information about “Light, Bright, and Gay.”
