Tony Bennett’s (holiday) spirit is alive and well at Winter Park Playhouse | Review

With legendary singer Tony Bennett’s death still fresh in music lovers’ minds, the current show onstage at Winter Park Playhouse serves as a beautiful eulogy as well as a well-crafted tribute.

“A Swingin’ Christmas: The Holiday Music of Tony Bennett” is one of those revue-style shows that gives fans a chance to hear an artist’s greatest hits through new arrangements and medleys, while also providing biographical information about the subject. It’s the kind of show Winter Park Playhouse does particularly well, and “A Swingin’ Christmas” is no exception.

The title gives away the festive twist in this trip down memory lane: Not only does David Grapes’ and Todd Olson’s show feature the greatest hits of Bennett, who died in July at age 96, it puts particular emphasis on his seasonal tunes.

“Tony loved Christmas and Tony loved Christmas music, and that’s why we’re here,” says performer Mahalia Gronigan at the top of the show.

The amazing statistics are quickly dispatched: 30 No. 1 singles, 19 competitive Grammy awards (plus a Lifetime Achievement Award), more than 50 million records sold worldwide. With that out of the way, not that anyone needs reminding of his iconic status, the focus can remain on the music. And the music is just the thing to stuff your stocking.

Music director Christopher Leavy makes the most of Vince di Mura’s jazzy arrangements, and gets a piquant blend from the cast of four. It helps that none of the four sounds like Bennett (who does?) — but together they evoke his spirit.

Gronigan, with a pleasing purr in her voice, is joined by Bert Rodriguez, who hits the high notes with verve, smooth-voiced Russell Stephens and Monica Titus, who adds some brass to the mix.

Nowhere are they better showcased than on a thrilling version of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” performed a cappella. That’s no slight to the Playhouse trio, led by Leavy with percussionist Sam Forrest and bassist Ned Wilkinson, who add life to standards such as “It Don’t Mean a Thing” and, of course, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” along with carols like “Silent Night.”

Amid all the familiarity I discovered a new tune or two: “Christmas in Herald Square,” an evocative love letter to the holidays in New York City, and “A Child is Born,” which Gronigan performs with an angelic soprano.

Tay Anderson is the “Swingin’ Christmas” stage director and does a fine job of striking the balance of letting her performers seem more human through ad-libs and chit chat without letting their asides take over the show. Her choreography also adds pleasing surprises to several numbers.

Toni Chandler’s costumes nicely capture the two sides of festive fashion: homey greens and reds, then glammed-up metallic sheens. CJ Sikorski’s scenic design has a clever nod to Bennett’s career as an entertainer, as sleek metal scaffolding with theatrical lights frames nostalgic images from Christmas Central: a cozy fireplace, a snow-covered lane seen through the window.

With a kick, “A Swingin’ Christmas” gets this year’s holiday season going.

‘A Swingin’ Christmas: The Holiday Music of Tony Bennett’

• Length: 1:55, including intermission

• Where: Winter Park Playhouse, 711 Orange Ave. in Winter Park

• When: Through Dec. 16

• Cost: $39-$46 (discounts for students, military, entertainment-industry workers)

• Info: winterparkplayhouse.org

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