By Kathy L. Collins
The Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) began offering an annual November/December extravaganza to audiences around the world in 1999. The multi-dimensional rock opera has played to over 100 million people in more than 80 cities.
This December, audiences in the Tampa area will have the opportunity to be a part of TSO’s 2015 Winter Tour featuring one of the group’s beloved stories performed in its own renowned audio visual manner. This year’s enchanted Yuletide tale is The Ghosts of Christmas Eve, which TSO will take to 60 cities across North America to perform 100 shows. AMALIE Arena in downtown Tampa will host two spectacular shows on Sunday, December 13 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Tickets go on sale on Friday, September 18. Visit www.trans-siberian.com for details.
The Ghosts of Christmas Eve follows the journey of a young runaway who, on Christmas Eve, breaks into an abandoned vaudeville theater seeking shelter from the cold, and the ghostly visions she experiences from that concert hall’s past. The Ghosts of Christmas Eve features such lasting crowd-pleasers as Christmas Eve Sarajevo 12/24, O’ Come All Ye Faithful, Good King Joy, Christmas Canon, Music Box Blues, Promises To Keep, and This Christmas Day.
TSO creator, lyricist and composer Paul O’Neill said, “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve brings me back to TSO’s beginnings.” TSO had originally filmed this as a television show for a PBS fundraiser. O’Neil explained, “We recorded this TV show before TSO had ever toured and it was almost like our first show. It was filmed in a majestic old theatre in Jersey City and we got to work with the legendary Ossie Davis, Jewel and Michael Crawford. There was a magic we captured and I think that’s why it was so successful as a fundraiser for PBS.”
This year’s tour follows the massive success of The 2014 Winter Tour. TSO has played in excess of 1,600 shows for more than 11 million fans cementing itself as one of the world’s biggest arena rock acts. This ongoing success is due to Paul O’Neill’s vision. O’Neill has melded the sound and fury of rock with the storytelling of Broadway to create a unique amalgamation he calls “rock theater” that leaves crowds of all ages speechless. Audiences can be assured the best is yet to come in 2015.
