November 2020
Gloria Anderson-Hegg, storyteller and oral historian, brings history to life with her first-person interpretation of characters from the past. A native of Bear River, Minnesota, Ms. Anderson-Hegg draws on her own ethnic roots as she portrays “Hanna,” a Scandinavian immigrant pioneer woman based on her maternal grandmother. Gloria brings the Bible to life with her inspirational characterizations of “Women of the Bible.” Children of all ages are charmed and mesmerized with “And They Lived Happily Ever After...,” a collection of mythical folk and fairy tales from all over the world.
Among her many accomplishments, Gloria worked for many years as a first-person interpreter and educational instructor at the IRONWORLD DISCOVERY CENTER in Chisholm, Minnesota. She portrayed an immigrant woman living in Glen Location, a 1915 era mining community situated at the edge of an open pit mine. Her stories are based on oral histories she conducted with elderly persons who once lived in the now defunct communities.
An active folklorist, Gloria has served on the board of the Oral History Association of Minnesota and has given presentations at a number of OHAM annual meetings. She has also presented Oral History workshops. Gloria is a member of the National Storytelling Network. As a free-lance storyteller, Gloria travels and delights audiences of all ages at schools, churches and community events throughout the Midwest with her folk tales and historically insightful presentations.
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A Virtual Reif Holiday Event!
Best viewed on a Smart Television, computer, tablet or phone. Broadcast in 1080p HD!
In this classic Christmas tribute, The Divas will dazzle you, bringing the holiday spirit with time honored hits from Bing Crosby to The Andrews Sisters to the Jackson 5, plus many more.
A Very Diva Christmas is guaranteed to get crowds into the spirit of the Holiday Season.
With gorgeous gowns, festive stage décor and witty banter and audience interaction, you will be tapping your toes and singing along to this nostalgic Holiday Experience.
Let the Divas bring the Holiday Cheer!
December 2020
A Virtual Reif Holiday Event!
Best viewed on a Smart Television, computer, tablet or phone. Broadcast in 1080p HD!
Style, sophistication, energy — and entertainment that not even the Grinch could resist. Light up your holidays with “Ringin & Swingin: The George Maurer Group Holiday Show” and the group’s trademark irreverent, tongue-in-cheek takes on classic Christmas tunes.
Maurer and company wrap the songs of the season in their unique brand of jazz, quoting everything Motown to Monk (Thelonious, that is) and Broadway to the Big Easy for a sound that’s two sizes too big. Highlights include a big brass blowout of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” that fuses Henry Mancini with Dr. Seuss, brilliant 4-part vocal harmonies, and a dead-on tribute to Dean Martin’s “The Christmas Blues.”
“Ringin’ & Swingin’” features an extensive repertoire of fun, swinging classics by jazz and pop legends, with intricate arrangements and vocals seasoned by the George Maurer Group’s famous lighthearted flair. Just when you expect them to pull another jazz riff out of Santa’s bag, they might give you a little hit of Led Zeppelin instead. Just when you least expect it, they might take you on a nostalgic journey to Christmases past with a heartfelt rendition of a time-honored favorite.
The George Maurer Group has brought many a house to its feet with their outstanding stage shows, where encores are the rule and the holiday spirit fills the room.
Ring in your holidays with the swingin’est Christmas show around.
Don't let COVID-19 put a damper on your holiday tradition of experiencing The Nutcracker, performed by Reif dancers! This special Video On-Demand performance was recorded in 2019.
Recreated from the classical ballet by Tchaikovsky, and performed by the superb Reif Dancers, The Nutcracker tells the enchanting story of young Clara who dreams that her nutcracker doll is transformed into a valiant prince. After defeating the evil Mouse King and his army, they are transported to the fantastical Land of Sweets where they are welcomed by a host of delectable characters. A Reif holiday tradition.
THANK YOU TO SPONSORS
THANK YOU TO SPONSOR
Two remarkable Christmas stories from World War Two point to the possibility that more is going on that what we might see. In the first story, a Christmas Eve celebration in a frozen cellar brings a soothing peace to a group of weary soldiers. While the other features Americans bringing joy to the children of a battered European village. In the third story, the narrator tells of his hilarious tour of Minnesota as the Grinch, but the story turns on him as he falls into a situation where his own heart needed to grow several sizes. What the three stories have in common is the angels appear in unlikely situations. Like the Christmas story itself -- which took place in a barn -- difficulties transform us to more than what we can imagine. In our Covid Christmas, this message is particularly timely. A soldier can’t leave the battlefield any more than any of us can escape the pandemic. But acts of kindness, particularly toward children, can open a door to something larger. When Christmas is stripped of the presents and what usually happens, as it was in Whoville when the Grinch stole everything, there is an opportunity to connect more deeply. In Whoville, they sang anyway. Christmas is, after all, a story with a happy ending and a choir of angels. In “Waiting for the Angels” the human spirit rises in spite of very difficult circumstances. In fact, those circumstances seem to open the door for the angels.
Waiting for the Angels is a multi-media one-man show about Christmas on the road featuring actor and writer Patrick Dewane, creator of the popular show The Accidential Hero. Audiences across the US and the Czech Republic have thrilled to his remarkable stories.
THANK YOU TO SPONSORS
We are bringing the excitement of Rock n Roll Xmas Spectacular directly to you!! Registration is easy and as a thank you to all our fans/patrons, we are offering this show for a “Pay What You Want” price! Its been a tough year for everyone and we want you to share the gift of music with everyone you know!!
Join us from the luxury of your own living rooms, basements & mangers as we saddle up our camels to deliver all of the rock n roll spirit that this un-present-dented holiday season deserves! We’ll be cooking up a setlist of time honored RRXS classics, plus a few surprises, all recorded live on stage & delivered to you whenever you decide to pull the RRXS cyber-trigger! Your ticket purchase allows you access to the show from Dec 18 at 7pm until Dec 31 at midnight!
So knock back a shot of Stacy Bauer’s patented “Jingle Juice” and let us cyber-rock your chestnuts off!
REIF DONATIONS ENCOURAGED AT CHECKOUT
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Recorded live at St. Joan of Arc Church in Minneapolis, MN.
December, 2020
Kevin Kling has performed his "Tales from the Charred Underbelly of the Yule Log” since 1995, starting at the Jungle Theater and then on to the Guthrie Theater for his annual December show there. It’s a bit of good cheer, stuffed with humor and based on a childhood memory of Christmas surrounded by dogs, relatives, and an unruly gasoline powered toy airplane. Talented musicians Dan Chouinard and Simone Perrin joined the celebration many years ago making the evening one of Minnesota's favorite holiday show traditions.
KEVIN KLING
A renowned playwright and storyteller, Minnesota's own Kevin Kling is known for his commentaries on NPR's All Things Considered. He has entertained audiences with his off-kilter stories that express humor, heart, and thoughtful philosophizing. Kevin has been awarded arts grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the McKnight Foundation, and the Minnesota State Arts Board, among others. In 2014, Mayor RT Rybak named Kevin the "Minneapolis Story Laureate". He continues to write plays and stories in a rigorous fashion and travels around the globe to storytelling festivals, residencies, and frequently performs at the acclaimed National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee.
SIMONE PERRIN
Musician and songwriter Simone Perrin grew up on the banks of the upper Mississippi in beautiful Winona, MN. After some time in New York City, and then Minneapolis, where she met and started working with Kevin Kling, Simone moved rural Wisconsin, where she lives today with her family. In between trips to the garden and snuggles with her little guys, Simone travels to towns around the Upper Midwest to sing songs and tell stories. She has appeared on the Prairie Home Companion and has performed with many regional theaters including The Guthrie, Theater Latte Da, Open Eye Figure Theatre, The Cincinnati Playhouse and The Seattle Repertory Theater, where she and Kevin developed two original plays, How? How? Why? Why? Why? and Breakin' Hearts and Takin' Names. In 2009, Simone released her first album Hummingbird available online at CDbaby.com.
DAN CHOUINARD
Dan Chouinard is a St. Paul-based honky-tonk pianist, concert soloist and accompanist, street accordionist, sing-along enabler, Italian and French teacher and bicycling vagabond, frequent lucky collaborator with Kevin Kling. With Grand Rapids native Peter Rothstein, co-creator in 2013 of Steerage Song, an immigration documentary-musical. Writer and host of many live music-and-history variety shows for broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio and Twin Cities Public Television. Performer on a dozen live broadcasts of A Prairie Home Companion. Recording artist with Peter Ostroushko, Prudence Johnson, Maria Jette and dozens of others. Founder of Lush Country, a classic country band made up of Prairie Home Companion veterans. More at danchouinard.com