''The Ghosts of Christmas Eve'' is a 1999 made-for-television film showcasing a Christmas music performance by

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel ...

, starring

Ossie Davis Raiford Chatman "Ossie" Davis (December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He and his wife were named to the NAACP ...

and Allie Sheridan. Guest performers included

Michael Crawford Michael Patrick Smith, (born 19 January 1942), known professionally as Michael Crawford, is an English tenor, actor and comedian. Crawford is best known for playing both the hapless Frank Spencer in the sitcom '' Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' a ...

and Jewel. Other performers include Bob Kinkel, Al Pitrelli,

Chris Caffery Christopher Caffery (born September 9, 1967) is an American musician, best known for his work as a member of Savatage and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Recently, Chris has been pursuing a solo career, releasing four albums since 2004. Biography ...

Johnny Lee Middleton Johnny Lee Middleton (born May 7, 1963) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the bass guitar player for Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Musical beginnings Middleton was born in St. Petersburg, Florida. His first experie ...

Jeff Plate Jeff Plate (born March 26, 1962) is an American professional hard rock/heavy metal drummer. He plays with the group Trans-Siberian Orchestra. He is best known as drummer for American heavy metal band Savatage on their albums since ''Japan Live '9 ...

, Tony Gaynor, Daryl Pediford and Tommy Farese.

Plot

The songs are presented in such a way as to form a storyline about a runaway who takes refuge in an abandoned theatre on Christmas Eve, and experiences the musical performances as ghostly visions from the theatre's past.

as the caretaker
Allie Sheridan
as the runaway, a special guest appearance by Joseph Jankovic as part of the children’s choir, and Jennifer Sheridan and TSO vocalist Tommy Farese as the runaway's parents are used to fill out the narrative. The special was filmed at the historic Loew's Jersey Theatre in Jersey City, New Jersey. It premiered on Fox Family on December 14, 1999 as part of their

25 Days of Christmas Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas is an American annual seasonal event of Christmas programming broadcast during the month of December by the U.S. cable network Freeform. The event was first held in 1996, and has been an annual fixture of the chann ...

programming block. On November 13, 2001, it was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

with the Timeless Version of "

Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24 "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" is an instrumental medley of " God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" and " Shchedryk", first released on the Savatage album ''Dead Winter Dead'' in 1995 as "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)." It was re-released by the Trans-Si ...

" included as a bonus track. The lost child, Allie Sheridan, would go on to perform with TSO during their 2003 tour. This story was performed live for the 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2022 winter tours.

List of songs

# "

O Come All Ye Faithful "O Come, All Ye Faithful" (originally written in Latin as "") is a Christmas carol that has been attributed to various authors, including John Francis Wade (1711–1786), John Reading (composer and organist), John Reading (1645–1692), John IV ...

O Holy Night "O Holy Night" (original title: ) is a well-known sacred song for Christmas performance. Originally based on a French-language poem by poet Placide Cappeau, written in 1843, with the first line (Midnight, Christian, is the solemn hour) that co ...

" # "Good King Joy" # "

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is an English Christmas carol that first appeared in 1739 in the collection ''Hymns and Sacred Poems''. The carol, based on , tells of an angelic chorus singing praises to God. As it is known in the modern era, it f ...

" (featuring Jewel) # "

" # " Christmas Canon" # "

" (featuring

) # "Music Box Blues" # "Promises to Keep" # "This Christmas Day" # "First Snow"

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' reviewer said, "the Trans-Siberian Orchestra has carried out a mission to create powerful artistry in music through the webbing of songs together by means of storytelling...artists like Jewel and Michael Crawford bring their own unique twists to a musical exploration of art and the Christmas spirit."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghosts Of Christmas Eve, The 1999 films American Christmas films ABC Family original films Concert films