‘12 Dames of Christmas’ will be on stage in Elgin
Show’s star doing only one performance this year after recovering from accident
Angela Ingersoll is only performing her holiday show, “The 12 Dames of Christmas,” one time this season, after being unsure she’d even be able to perform at all.
In August, she was in rural Pennsylvania for a show when she tripped in the parking lot and knocked out her two front teeth and fractured her upper jaw. She spent weeks with no teeth and her jaw wired shut so it could heal. Fortunately, she has had “really wonderful” dentists and doctors taking care of her and has recovered. Now, she has two fake front teeth.
“Guess what song is getting thrown in this year?” she laughed. “I’m excited to be back onstage and I’m certainly counting my blessings with the audience this year. Hopefully enough time has passed I can laugh about it a little bit, because I am OK. I’m pretty excited to get back in front of the people.”
Angela Ingersoll presents “The 12 Dames of Christmas” at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 15 at the Blizzard Theatre at Elgin Community College.
Ingersoll is married to Michael Ingersoll and the couple own Artists Lounge Live, a collective of tribute artists and shows.
The concert evolves each year. She hasn’t done the show in Elgin in many years so if people saw her years ago, they will be in for a lot of new material, she said.
“The one that always stops the show, the one that people seem to respond to the most, is when I do Janis Joplin,” she said. “I sing a Janis Jolin-imagined Christmas song. And nobody expects that I should be able to make that kind of sound because they know me from singing Judy Garland. But I’ve listened to her my whole life. That’s the one that gets people going crazy ever year.”
She’ll do songs by powerhouse songstresses like Eartha Kitt, Julie Andrews, Judy Garland and Patsy Cline.
“I imagine a Patsy Cline Christmas song. It would’ve been so nice if she could’ve given the world a Christmas album,” she said. “Can you imagine her singing country Christmas songs? It would’ve been so beautiful.”
Another crowd pleaser is “Hard Candy Christmas” by Dolly Parton.
If you’re keeping track — yes, she sneaks in a couple more than 12 dames. Roll with it.
There is music for folks of all ages, she said.
“There are certainly older, traditional things — songs your grandparents like — and I also have some (songs from) modern Disney princesses,” she said.
Ingersoll started the show in 2015 and it has changed quite a bit over the years — she’s taken out songs by Peggy Lee and Billie Holiday, for example.
“I try to keep it fresh and moving, learning from what the audience is responding to and trying to keep it relevant to what’s going on in the world right now,” she said. “I want it to feel like a balance of tradition and surprises. That’s what a great Christmas is. That’s the balancing act the really keeps me engaged and having a great time.”
She plays games with the audience, like a contest to see the oddest things people can pull out of their purses. If you have a ketchup packet or set of silverware in your bag, you might win a prize.
“It’s a really, really good time. It’s a very funny show, quite honestly. I wish I could do it more often,” she said. “I hate that this time of year comes around and I’m like, ‘I don’t get to do it enough.’ ”
She normally performs the show several times in a season but this year, her health caused her to question if she would be able to get even one show under her belt.
“This is the only one. I’m pulling out all the stops for this one.”