Reviewed by Matt Crossman

Welcome to Hotel Bethlehem, the finest hotel in the land. An establishment filled, bizarrely, with playful musical interludes, choirs and the harsh face of corporate America. This children's musical unfolds the Christmas story told from the perspective of the overbooked luxury Hotel Bethlehem, its staff and guests. It's an interesting take on the story of Christmas - the tender hearted stable boy breaks the rules to allow couple "with child" to use the facilities of his stable, thus jeopardising his position with the customer service obsessed management who revokes his Christmas bonus. Cue boos. The stable boy gazes into the distance (one imagines) as he realises what the true treasure in life is. Pam Andrews' choral creations and arrangements for this Christmas musical are simple yet intriguing, with some lovely moments sung by the talented cast of under-12s. However, many of the characters are American stereotypes - the western cowboy, the New York wheeler dealer, the southern "belle" - which might not translate all that well to a UK audience, along with some of the corny humour, though the gospel message is clear. But really, this is great entertainment for the family - although some songs are more singable than others, and it might be a bit hard to get an actual production together without involving some older heads - probably one for the nuclear family people carrier's CD player on the way down to visit Granny on Christmas eve.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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