Candy and elves create a festive holiday show

It was a dark and stormy night when Candace Decker starred in "Candy for the Holidays" in 2010. This year brought better weather and a bigger crowd to witness Decker's many talents.

But just like Santa, Decker had many elves to help her with this festive musical project. Accompanist Phil Smith kept Decker on pace and provided some fancy finger work to the mostly upbeat and/or humorous pieces, many embellished by Decker's hilarious stories. Nancy Van Brunt led the Windy Hill Handbell Choir in two lovely pieces, "The Coventry Carol" and "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." The group also entertained theatergoers in the lobby before the show.

The University of Wisconsin-Waukesha Concert Choir, under the direction of Thomas Patterson, performed a rather bland "Yes Virginia (There's a Santa Claus)," but rebounded nicely for a sprightly "'Zat You, Santa Claus?"

The Bargain Basement Brass Band Santas, led by Craig Hurst on trumpet, opened the show with several numbers, ranging from "Dona Nobis Pacem" to a bouncy "Ding Dong Merrily on High." A couple numbers sounded a bit rusty, but the arrangements were interesting.

Decker reprised one of the funniest stories from last year, but also came up with lots of new material for this show. Her story of the time she and husband Steve Decker, who directed the show, brought home a real tree only to unleash hundreds of little flies when they took it out of the bag drew lots of laughs as she wrapped the somber "Christmas Time is Here" around the story. A new story featured her sister, who took umbrage at Candy's saying she looked like a monkey in a childhood picture. Decker deftly segued back into "The Christmas Song" after the animated tale.

Decker's forte is belting out a tune, like the "Joy to the World" finale that had everyone expecting the familiar carol until she blurted "Jeremiah was a bullfrog ..." Yet, she is probably more effective with tunes that tell a story in which she can emote the lyrics. Such was the case with a lovely tune written by Smith, Decker's accompanist, "Nothing About Christmas (Is the Same Out Here)," which described how unsettling holidays can be in an unfamiliar locale. She was equally effective on "Just in Time for Christmas."

She and husband Steve again added a condensed Christmas holiday special to the show, which last year featured "A Charlie Brown Christmas." This year featured "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," with Steve Decker as the Grinch and Candy playing the Whos, each taking turns reading the popular Dr. Seuss holiday tale. The Bargain Basement Brass Band Santas added some clever sound effects to the bit, while Smith lent his voice in "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch."

A bonus to the nonstop, 90-minute show was the Concert Choir's appearance in the lobby after the show to perform a portion of Handel's "Messiah," including a sing-along to the "Halleluiah Chorus" plus a lovely, soulful "O Holy Night" solo by Melissa Stehr, who sang with the tenors.

Decker, a veteran cabaret performer, will next appear on the Lunt-Fontanne stage at UW-Waukesha for "Love, Candy - A Valentine's Day Cabaret."