Midwinter Night’s Dream in Orange

Perhaps it’s because I once lived in northern Vermont, where more often than not the woods were blanketed with snow most of the year, that I believe Christmas deserves to be celebrated under a full moon at midnight somewhere in the New England countryside not far from a roaring fireplace.

Failing that, I will gladly take Shakespeare Orange County’s fresh, handsome and well-mounted holiday show--”A Shakespearean Christmas,” closing its brief run tonight at 8 at Chapman University’s Waltmar Theatre--as the nearly perfect Southern California substitute.

In both looks and spirit, the production embodies a midwinter night’s dream. It is played out on a snow white stage beneath three heroic fir trees dressed to kill in festive lights beneath a sky of many paper moons. The show, subtitled “A Christmas Anthology,” is full of vivid joy and poetry delivered with heartfelt warmth, as well as panache.

Led by Michael Nehring, who is a stylish host (and who also directed), the nine-person troupe offers a delightful evening with the seeming assurance of Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney making a solid go of the holiday inn in “White Christmas”--minus the orchestra’s lush strings, of course, but as musical and graceful as ever.

Eve Himmelheber’s vivacious performance--she is a relaxed and wonderful singer--brings polished artistry to all her songs, and she is ably helped not just by soprano Bridget Connors and guitarist-singer Craig Brown but by an entirely game cast in lively seasonal tunes such as “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”

Other highlights include John-Frederick Jones doing a dead-on comic impersonation of the Naz, in a truly rare telling of the story of Jesus of Nazareth (no pun intended), Chris DuVal offering the tragic lyrics of a young poet, John Shouse evoking the complex beneficence of the lines of John Donne, Carl Reggiardo giving resonance to Shakespeare and--yes, Virginia--a tap-dance surprise by Peter Westenhofer.

With plenty of excerpts from Ogden Nash, Clement C. Moore and Robert Frost as well, there is no shortage of humor in all its varieties from the whimsical to the cynical. Even if there were, the evening finale, which enlists enthusiastic audience participation, is sufficient to send you off with a grin to the hot cider and holiday deserts provided at the final curtain.

* “A Shakespearean Christmas: A Christmas Anthology,” Shakespeare Orange County, Chapman University’s Waltmar Theatre, 310 E. Palm Ave., Orange. Tonight, 8 p.m. $20 and $16 (seniors, students, children ages 5-12). Running time: 2 hours, 40 minutes. (714) 744-7016.

A Shakespeare Orange County production of spoken selections excerpted from writings by William Shakespeare, Samuel T. Coleridge, Clement C. Moore, Charles Dickens, Robert Frost, Ogden Nash and others. Directed by Michael Nehring. With Bridget Connors, Chris DuVal, Eve Himmelheber, John-Frederick Jones, Michael Nehring, Carl Reggiardo, John Shouse and Peter Westenhofer. Scenic design: Craig Brown. Lighting design: Stacey Ribiero. Stage management: Julia Stormont.