Merry and Moving : Gay Men’s Chorus concert ranges from carols to spoofs in a program meant to touch hearts and tickle funny bones.

Whether it is a poignant rendition of “Silent Night” in which the last verse is not sung, but signed for the hearing impaired, or a salute to Christmas carols where the “carols” are men dressed as Carol Burnett, Carol Lawrence and Diahann Carroll, expect holiday music with a twist at Saturday’s Christmas concerts by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.

Titled “Don We Now . . . ,” the two performances at the Alex Theatre in Glendale offer a mixture of the traditional and unconventional. “We try to stay away from the hyper-religious,” says Jon Bailey, artistic director of the 150-member ensemble for the past seven years, and Pomona College music department chairman and director of choral activities.

“Irreverence wouldn’t be the right word, but we do play a spoof on the secular side. This is a family show--there is nothing offensive about it. It’s a show you can bring your children or your grandmother to.”

The program is divided into four sections. The opening set, “Christmas in the Southwest,” features a collection of 10 Basque, Catalan, Spanish and Mexican carols and lullabies adapted by Conrad Susa--who recently came to prominence with his operatic version of “Dangerous Liaisons.” The singers will be accompanied by marimba, harp and guitar. Also on the bill are the 16th-Century Spanish carol “Riu Riu Chiu”, and “Peace Peace” by Rick and Sylvia Powel.

Bailey, 55, chose a Latino theme because, he says, “living in Los Angeles and not speaking the language of the city seems criminal. This is part of the cultural heritage.”

The second section features a work called “A Christmas Dinner,” representing what Bailey calls the “Family Values Holidays” section, which he says, “is appropriate, given all the right-wing fever in the country.” A spoof on a Bach cantata, with lyrics by Craig Sturgis and music by Bach and Larry Moore, the piece is about a man who takes his lover home to Peoria for a Christmas dinner, uncertain if he should reveal the true nature of their relationship.

“It’s what every gay man goes through,” says Bailey. “The outcome is, of course, that the family knew all along and that the lover was quite welcome. It shows the love and respect appropriate to the holidays.”

After intermission, the second half kicks off with “Carol’s Cabaret,” a takeoff on customary holiday tunes in which choristers dressed as famous women named Carol--as well as actor Carroll O’Connor--sing “Wishing You a Drag Queen Christmas.” Other selections are “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “Going on a Sleigh Ride.” The latter is danced by a chorus line. At the end of this section, chorus members surround the audience for a sing-along.

The last section, “Masters in This Hall,” features English carols and takes place in an English manor hall setting, wherein Father Christmas welcomes the singers to a grand banquet. Songs include “Deck the Halls,” arranged by Libby Larson, “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” sung by a chamber chorus, and a version of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”

In this section, too, is “Silent Night,” performed first in English and Spanish and concluding with the chorus using sign language instead of singing.

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“It’s quite moving to see,” according to Bailey. “We’ve had a number of our concerts signed because we’ve had deaf people in the audience.”

The Christmas concerts mark the chorus’ third time at the Alex, and they’ll be performing for an audience that Bailey estimates is 80% gay. While theater personnel have been supportive, the group’s presence has elicited some controversy in the community, Bailey notes with frustration.

“Glendale is not a liberal city,” he says. “We’ve sung at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Orange County Center for the Performing Arts. What’s wrong with singing at the Alex Theatre? We’re a legitimate arts organization, and we’re paying good money to sing there.”

But, he adds, “we certainly have an agenda--of gay people reaching out through our music, building bridges through the community.”

Indeed, such a mission can enhance performance quality, says Bailey’s colleague Dr. Stan Hill, director of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. “Jon is a respected conductor and gets a fine sound out of the chorus, beyond just tone and diction,” he says. “There’s a heightened sense of self, of purpose, a good sense of getting the message out that, ‘It’s OK. We’re not freaks. This is who we are and we happen to do what we do very well.’ I listen to them as a musician and I hear an enthusiasm, a vibrance.”

Agenda or no, Bailey also has a goal particularly befitting the season. “People bring all sorts of baggage to a concert like this--their own expectations and needs,” he says. “This is the hardest concert of the year to program--it should be a ‘warm fuzzy.’ I want to give the people something. My hope is that they’ll go away from the concert feeling really fed in their hearts.”

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Where and When

Who: The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.

Location: Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale.

Hours: 4 and 8 p.m. Saturday.

Price: $10 to $25.

Call: (213) 650-0756, (818) 243-2539 or (800) 233-3123.