Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas is a surprisingly versatile film, staying relevant throughout both Halloween and Christmas and thus doubling its potential for movie night goodness. Clearly the good folks on Broadway agree, though they only need one holiday to get their point across.
On Halloween night, an impressive bunch of Broadway stars will come together to put on a virtual benefit concert featuring songs from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Live streaming on the Actors Fund Vimeo channel for a small price, all proceeds will go towards the Lymphoma Research Foundation and the Actors Fund itself. On October 31st at 7 pm EST, fans everywhere can relive some of their favorite spooky ditties with a fresh coat of paint, or whatever the audio version of paint is.
The concert is being put together by James Monroe Iglehart, the Tony award winner known for playing Genie in the original Broadway adaptation of Aladdin as well as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in Hamilton starting in 2017. Tim Burton and Danny Elfman appear to be returning in some capacity to help with the show as well. Some of the talent involved includes Adrienne Warren (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical), Danny Burstein (My Fair Lady), Rafael Casal (Blindspotting), and Nik Walker (Motown The Musical) among many others.
The Lymphoma Research Foundation, which is one of the charities receiving the proceeds from the benefit, is a nonprofit dedicated to research and relief for those suffering from the affliction. Being the largest of its kind in the country, the money raised with this performance could do great things for people in need. The other charity involved, The Actors Fund, serves to support performers and anyone else working in the entertainment industry if they are in need of aid. Both organizations seem to make this a worthy cause.
It's not surprising to see The Nightmare Before Christmas as the subject of such a show. Even among people who haven't seen it, songs like "This Is Halloween" and "What's This?" have permeated public consciousness since the film's 1993 release. Random hoodies adorned with Jack Skellington's face still pop up in trendy clothing shops and the Kingdom Hearts games have featured the film's world and music more than a few times, spreading it to an audience far beyond what Tim Burton likely ever imagined.
Fans of The Nightmare Before Christmas will likely want to check out the show, if not for the sake of nostalgia, the benefit aspect seems more than worth the $4.99 price tag. For everyone else, remember this is Danny Elfman music. It's going to be good even without the movie's context. Either way, it's good music for a good cause.
Source: The Actors Fund