Lynch and Flannery Swing into Christmas at Strathmore
By • November 13, 2024 0 24
Jane Lynch, wisecracking coach Sue Sylvester in “Glee,” and Kate Flannery, wild yet lovable cocktail enthusiast Meredith Palmer in “The Office,” have teamed up to tour this holiday season in “A Swingin’ Little Christmas.” Coming to Strathmore on Dec. 4, the show promises to be part cabaret, part comedy and a bit of Christmas kitsch.
The duo, who met in the 1980s Chicago theater scene, will perform with singer Tim Davis and the Tony Guerrero Quintet.
“Kate, Tim Davis, Tony Guerrero of our quintet came up with the idea of an album first, then decided to take it on the road because we had so much fun and we love the music so much,” said Lynch. “It’s that late ’50s and early ’60s big band and swing that typifies the best of Christmas music.”
Flannery echoed that sentiment, saying the show is like the Rat Pack with “a couple of funny broads.” “Jane and I are like sisters from another mister,” she said. “Our show is a throwback — you’ll hear great songs you already know with a late ’50s jazz vibe.”
One of the songs Flannery loves to sing during the show is a version of the carol “Good King Wenceslas” in which she can’t remember how to pronounce his name. “It’s more like ‘Good King What’s-His-Face,’” she said. “The song arrangement is reminiscent of Louis Prima’s ‘That Old Black Magic.’”
Lynch said they explain in the show how their series were canceled around the same time, and that’s when they decided to hit the road. “We used to be a tour de force and now we’re forced to tour,” she joked.
When “Glee” ended, Lynch was asked to do a cabaret in New York, but didn’t want to do it solo, so Flannery joined her.
“After a few years of performing together across the country, we had the idea to do a Christmas album,” Flannery said. “We did it on our own dime and self-produced it on our own label, called KitschTone Records.”
The album did so well that it reached number eight on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. “Now we’re contractually obligated to spend every December together,” Flannery said. “Thank God we have fun doing it!”
Their favorite traditions include the smell of pine incense coming from a little log cabin that Lynch’s family bought out every holiday season, and holiday tunes sung by greats like Bing Crosby, Perry Como and Rosemary Clooney.
Flannery, who is one of seven children, always gets together with her family for a turkey dinner and watches “every Christmas movie we can think of.” Of course, there is also plenty of music. “Classic Christmas music is better than Prozac or Valium,” she said. “It always puts me in a good mood.”
While they will be in Maryland for their Strathmore show, the two have connections to Georgetown. Lynch remembered being in Georgetown 14 years ago for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the first year “Glee” aired.
“I was walking down the street and an a cappella group from Georgetown University gathered around me and sang ‘Don’t Stop Believin’’ in an amazingly beautiful arrangement,” Lynch said. “I almost burst into tears.”
Flannery went to school at Shenandoah University in nearby Winchester, Virginia, for two years in the mid-1980s. She recalled driving to Georgetown on Saturday nights once or twice each semester.
“My friend Rochelle’s brother was a bartender at a place called Pinocchio’s at M and Wisconsin Ave.,” she said. “We would window-shop all the cool shops that we couldn’t afford.”
Whenever she is in D.C., Flannery still likes to shop in Georgetown and discover new restaurants. “Georgetown is a great place to walk around and, yes, I always pass the Exorcist Steps. They’re so iconic and scary,” she said.
Tickets for “A Swingin’ Little Christmas,” on Dec. 4 at 8 p.m., are available at strathmore.org.
