Christmas with The Peppermint Patties: Sweet, nostalgic, and a tiny bit fresh!

A review by Aaron Hunt

​“A warm and fuzzy holiday haze.”

If you want a little sumthin-sumthin to slap you into a warm and fuzzy holiday haze, this is what you require. You can stream Christmas with The Peppermint Patties for a limited time at a price you can afford.

“This is your answer to the absence of the holiday TV specials of your youth.”

This is your answer to the absence of the holiday TV specials of your youth. (Unless you're young enough to be on all your first joints.) It's a little Andrew Sisters, a little Lennon Sisters, and a little cabaret. It's sweet, nostalgic, funny, and sometimes a tiny bit fresh, and these performers may help you forget the news for a hot minute. There is no higher compliment.

“Sweet, nostalgic, and a tiny bit fresh.”

Anna Caldwell can sing anything. Everyone in Chicago knows this. A larger geographical area needs this information. She sings all seven of her octaves in this thing and lands a Christmas Always Finds Me that you will never forget. Anna tells our current collective story with this song, and it is beautiful and heart-rending. 

I know Laura Smalley Emery, but I'm ashamed to say this is the first time I've heard her sing. Again, (leitmotif) vocal range to burn, lovely, warm timbre to the voice, but she's also funny and wise and always reads the room for pace. She has an uncanny sensibility as a performer. She sings a Happy Days/Forget Your Troubles duet with Daina Fischer that will rock your world. 

Daina Fischer’s sparkling voice defies classification, at least for me. She sings mostly alto with the Patties, but in her solo numbers, we hear the (rim shot) huge range on the lady. She gives some Sondheim and some Jason Robert Brown that you miss at your own peril. 

Nikki Krzebiot (again, how many notes?) pops a couple of standards that are chocolate sauce on the heart. 

The Feathered Beaus open for and sometimes join the Patties, and don't miss the boys–they're terrific and multiply the fun.

Slap some money down and deck your halls with The Peppermint Patties.

Aaron Ashton Hunt is a freelance opera, musical theatre, and theatre reviewer, with feature articles published in Chicago’s NewCity newspaper, and HowlRound. He holds memberships in ACTA and MCANA.

​He is also trained in opera, musical theater and acting and has performed all over the country on professional stages. He is a sought after Director in the Chicago Storefront Opera Scene and theater educator with residences in Chicago, Malta (EU) and Los Angeles.

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