The family holiday show at the Gaylord Palms this year is called “Pomp, Snow & CIRQUEumstance.”
It’s unique in a few ways. First, this is the show’s public debut, after its world tour for armed forces entertainment and before its engagement on Broadway. Yes, Broadway.
And second, longtime Broadway director, designer, philanthropist and author Neil Goldberg has invited Orange County students to design a costume for the colorful show that will appear on the Gaylord stage…and in the Broadway production. Third, that contest came with donations to Orange County Public Schools’ arts program.
Goldberg said he wrote the children’s book “Pomp, Snow & CIRQUEumstance” as a way to stay creative during the pandemic.
“Pomp, Snow and CIRQUEumstance are three characters. They study music, circus and magic at a secret university. They graduate and get their diplomas from Santa, and then they spread their music, magic and circus around the world,” explained Goldberg. “There are lessons learned along the way, and that is the concept of the first holiday show, which opened last week at the Gaylord Palms.”
And how was opening week?
“Exciting! And nerve wracking,” laughed Goldberg. “When you're working on developing a concept for the stage for four years, to finally have it come to life is both daunting and thrilling at the same time. For me, as a producer and a showman, I did not want to come back into the entertainment landscape [after semi-retirement during COVID] unless I could bring something different, that would make a difference in the entertainment community.”
To stay true to his goal of making a difference, Goldberg partnered with Orange County Public Schools on several projects, including donating his book to elementary schools and launching a costume contest for middle and high school art students. The students can submit a design drawing that they think would work well in the colorful holiday world of “Pomp, Snow & CIRQUEumstance.”
“The exciting part about the payoff of this is when we select a winning design, we are going to make that costume,” said Goldberg. “Our designers are going to interpret it. We're going to put that winning costume design into the [Orlando] show the week of Christmas, and then we're going to take the costume onto Broadway, as part of the over 300 costumes that are in the show!”
After four decades working in entertainment on Broadway, on TV stations, and in theme parks like Disney, Goldberg has this advice for young people who want to work in his field.
“Persevere. That’s number one,” he said. “You hear the word ‘no’ so many times, and you shouldn't give up, and you need to go to auditions, and you need to resubmit, and you just need to continue to pound the pavement and persevere, every opportunity that you can.”
Goldberg is still chasing his own dream. “There's one item left on my bucket list that hasn't been checked off, and that's [winning] a Tony Award for costume design.”
“So I encourage young people to design away, submit their sketches,” added Goldberg. “Some lucky young person's design is going to be interpreted, and hopefully take this journey with me.”
