Bismarck Tribune

By DERRI SCARLEBy DERRI SCARLETT

It's that time of year, when the world falls in love … with Lorie Line.

From her modest performance beginnings, serenading shoppers at Dayton's department store in Minneapolis, Line now produces a musical spectacular for the Christmas season, which will be stopping in Bismarck on Saturday.

The show starts at 7:30 p.m.

Line and her piano have been touring for 16 years, and entertaining Bismarck for eight, with her Christmas show, she said. She tours in the spring and summer, too, but it's a more sedate event.

"The Christmas show is our big, theatrical event," Line said.

And it gets around, with Line's troupe giving 51 performances in 53 days, this year. "We're the fastest-moving show in the Midwest," she said.

Several tractor-trailers and buses are needed to transport the musicians - otherwise known as the Pop Chamber Orchestra - the lavish sets and the crew.

"We have a brand-new vocalist on the tour this year, Kelly Smith," Line said. "She's a lyric soprano, from Arlington, Va., and she's never been to Bismarck. But she's getting rave reviews everywhere we play."

Each year's show has a distinct theme, and this year's is "The Traditions of Christmas."

"I think that's the big attraction to my show," Line said, when reached by telephone on the road in Appleton, Wis. "Each and every year I have a brand new show, and that's what keeps people coming back."

She coordinates the theme, from the music to the costumes to the wrappings on the bells at her concerts - a different, specially designed bell every year. Even this year's bell resonates with the historical theme, featuring an Ethiopian cross.

"This year, it's the true storytelling of Christmas - fact and fancy," she said. "Legendary stories, and stories we believe to be true.

"We're going to take people to the manger, to the Orient. We're going to talk about bells and how bells originated," Line said. "We'll talk about where Saint Nicholas came from. And the story of Charles Dickens. Hopefully, the show is both entertaining and educational."

Line said it's a great show for children, but not if they're too young.

"It's appropriate for ages 4 and up," she said. "Under the age of 4, kids are a little afraid. The thunder and lightning and other sound effects are larger than life, and that can be overwhelming for younger children."

But children are welcomed at her concerts, even on the stage. Every year, the children in the audience are invited to come up and join in the performance in some way. Line said she hopes to have about 100 children on the stage in Bismarck this year.

The music is interwoven with transitional stories and play-acting, Line said.

"There are four major segments, with costume changes. The costumes are very 17th-century looking. We're taking people way back in time. The costumes are just glorious."

She should know, since she does the original designs, based on each year's theme. Her ideas are then forwarded to her costume designer for the final designs.

Line also has put out 28 CDs, selling more than 5 million copies. In addition, she has produced about 20 books of piano arrangements.

"People asked for them," she said. "Beginning and intermediate students complained that they couldn't find arrangements they liked that were accessible to them. The student arrangements were just too choppy."

Audience members at this year's show can find their few minutes of fame, as Line takes the term "multimedia performance" to a new level.

"We will be taking a picture of the kids who come up onstage," she said. "It can be downloaded the next day for free. We're also recording the audience singing 'Silent Night,' and that will be available to download for 99 cents."

Line's husband, Tim, who refers to himself as "Mr. Lorie Line," emcees the show and dons costumes to join in the vignettes that are sprinkled throughout. If he looks familiar, it's because he grew up in Bismarck.

"His first-grade teacher comes to the show every year in Bismarck," Lorie Line said.

Line, who lives in the Minneapolis area, said her business grew from that gig playing the piano at Dayton's.

"People asked about recordings," she said. "So we started selling CDs, and one day, we realized that we had a business. We planned a tour, and my husband quit his big, corporate job to manage it.

Tickets are available at the Bismarck Civic Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster outlets. Charge by phone at 701-222-2121 or online at www.ticket-master.com/venue/49310.

Prices are $47.50, $40.50 and $33.50. Fifteen and under, $33.50. Seniors get $5 off the highest price level.