One of the (many) amazing benefits of being a student at Christopher Newport is the unlimited access to the Ferguson Center for the Arts. This venue hosts dozens of performances each year, ranging from concerts by Harry Connick Jr. and Celtic Woman, to Chinese acrobats and Broadway shows. The variety is fantastic, and students even get discounted tickets! Each time I attend a show, several people come up to me and comment on how lucky I am to go to a school with such a beautiful facility, and, every time, I realize again how right they are.
This past weekend, the Ferg presented Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.” Now, let me give you some context on my relationship with “White Christmas”. I saw the musical live for the first time at a dinner theater with some friends when I was 11. Since then, “White Christmas” has been my all-time favorite Christmas movie. Every Christmas Eve I make my whole family sit down to watch it together, and we sing every song at the top of our lungs. My sister and I are totally convinced that we ARE the main characters, and their “Sisters” song totally defines our relationship. Needless to say … I was pretty excited when I found out it was going to be performed here.
I decided to surprise my whole family with tickets, and their reaction was exactly what I had been hoping for. My parents, sister and grandmother all packed into my mom’s mini van, and they came road-tripping down to CNU for the show. Once we arrived in the Ferguson lobby, it was so fun to see the excitement in the eyes of the families waiting for the show to start. Christmas music was playing, everyone was wearing red, and the holiday spirit seemed to be settling in on CNU. The show itself was incredible! My family and I had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The songs were amazing, the dance numbers blew me away, and the audience was fully engaged through the entire performance. It was absolutely worth taking a night off from essay writing and homework to see a great show and fall into the Christmasy spirit. And, in case you’re wondering, the answer is yes. I did sing all of the songs with my sister!
Although the final showing of “White Christmas” was on Sunday night, I would highly encourage everyone to pick up tickets for upcoming shows. Check out the schedule online! There are so many awesome events coming up. Take someone on a date! Go for a fun night with your roommates! Do what I did, and bring your family down! We are so lucky to have such fantastic performances right on campus. Don’t miss out on the chance to take advantage of them!
