It may not draw crowds like “The Nutcracker,” but as an annual Chicago holiday tradition it has no less devoted an audience.
“Songs of Good Cheer,” on stage next week in a short series of concerts at the Old Town School of Folk Music, is a show with Christmas carols and other holiday music led by Mary Schmich and Eric Zorn, both former columnists for the Tribune. There’s a backing house band of professional folk, country and jazz musicians, and audience members get a copy of song lyrics at their seat, should they need it. The crowd is invited to sing along.
“The audience is part of the show, is what I’ve always said,” Schmich said in a recent interview.
Concerts last about two and a half hours with an intermission. Along with music, there’s always some back-and-forth exchange between Schmich and Zorn, and this year they’re planning a quiz about holiday songs.
A few Christmas carols always make the set list. “Silent Night” is always the final song. They almost always sing “Joy to the World” and “The First Noel.” They do Hanukah songs and more pop-music picks like “Jingle Bells,” Schmich said, “though Eric hates ‘Jingle Bells.’”
“Songs of Good Cheer,” this year in its 26th year, began after Schmich wrote a 1998 column “lamenting that nobody sings Christmas carols any more,” she said. Zorn approached her and said they should put on a sing-along. He played fiddle, she played piano, he knew a number of musicians at Old Town School.
It was all a bit of a lark, the first show sold out, they added another, they returned and did the same thing next year. The series has continued even during the pandemic in a virtual version. Schmich allows that she and Zorn are not bad musicians themselves at this point. (Both retired from the Tribune in June 2021.)
The concert is a fundraiser, with a portion of ticket sales benefiting Chicago charities, and this year has its first studio album.
For all of “Songs of Good Cheer’s” unchanging familiarity, that seems to be just what people want from the show this time of year, Schmich said. She and Zorn recognize some of the same faces from the stage who have returned year after year. Generations of the same families have attended.
“People get emotional,” she said. There’s always damp eyes during “Silent Night.” “It’s the holidays, that can bring up a lot of memories.”
Concerts at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 12-14, plus afternoons at 3 p.m. Dec. 14 and 4 p.m. Dec. 15, in Maurer Concert Hall at the Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln Ave.; tickets $56-$58 at 773-728-6000 and www.oldtownschool.org
dgeorge@chicagotribune.com