“To celebrate this season of good tidings and peace, our most gracious lord King Henry announces the coming of his 1st annual Madrigal Dinner. The King extends to all his loyal gentry – landed or not – an invitation to join him for a yuletide banquet of fine food, good cheer and hearty merriment at the St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Palo Alto”(http://homepage.mac.com/palychoirs)

Songs will be sung, a script will be read, and costumes will be worn as the Paly Choir performs their first ever Madrigal Dinner this Friday and Saturday night.

As stated on the choir homepage, (http://homepage.mac.com/palychoirs), the Madrigal dinner and performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 10 and Dec. 11 at the St. Marks Episcopal Church in Palo Alto. According to Michael Najar, the choir director at Paly, pieces by Henry VIII, Handel, Faure, and a few Christmas and Chanukah songs will be performed.

The Madrigal Dinner is not your typical choir concert. In fact it’s not considered a choir concert at all. “It is dinner theater,” Najar said, which means along with singing, the members of the choir will be acting and following a script, while the guests enjoy a nice meal.

“It’s a 100% full-on production,” Najar said.

The script follows the story of King Henry VIII, a famous king and composer.

“Like dinner theater, our story revolves around the coronation of King Henry VIII,” Najar said. “Henry was known for bringing the arts back to England.”

Senior Charles Vickery will play King Henry VIII and junior Mary Hewlett will play Henry’s sister, Princess Mary. Senior Christine Lockner will play Henry’s wife, Catherine of Aragon.

The Madrigals is an advanced choir group that rehearses on Monday nights and it is composed of both boys and girls. The Spectrum singers, an all female group, are advanced singers that gather on Tuesday nights. When in school, both groups come together to form the concert choir.

The Spectrum singers will be wearing their normal attire of black and white, while the Madrigal singers will wear costumes from the Renaissance period, purchased by the singers themselves.

Seating will be set up based on the ticket purchased. According to Najar, the Kings table will be set up closer to the stage. The advantage of the Kings table ($50 a person) is that you experience more interaction with the characters and you also receive the opportunity to listen to your own set of carolers. The Nobility seats ($35 a person) are the regular seats, located in the middle of the church, and the Gentry seats ($10) are in the back of the church. Gentry seats can only be purchased at the door; food is not included for the Gentry.

For Kings and Nobility table seating, you must order the tickets ahead of time. These tickets can be ordered by filling out a Madrigal Dinner form, which can be found in the choir room or online on the choir homepage.

According to Najar, along with the singing and acting, guests will enjoy an authentic Renaissance feast, including Cornish hens and figgy pudding. For those who are vegetarian, a vegetarian option will be available, as specified on the order form.

According to senior Spectrum singer Jessica Arrott, the Madrigal dinner is an opportunity to spend some quality time with your family.

“The Madrigals do skits,” Arrott said. “It’s really fun and it’s a good family event.”

According to Najar, Madrigal Dinners are popular in the Bay Area, but this is the first time the Paly choir is putting on their own production.

So why should Paly students come to see this performance?

“It’s a chance to see fellow students performing in a way they will never see at another time,” senior choir member Maddie Allen said. “It’s a way to hear great music and support the arts!”