“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” had a pretty big year in 2016. Thanks to Josh Groban, this 72 year-old Hugh Martin / Ralph Blane tune reached No. 1 on Billboard’s adult contemporary charts.

Copyright Reprise / Warner Bros. All rights reserved

Mind you, this isn’t the only time in recent memory that this holiday song has charted. Back in 2014, Sam Smith’s cover of “Merry Little Christmas” made it into Billboard’s Hot 100. And Michael Bublé’s version did equally well back in 2011.

Which is pretty impressive. Especially when you take into consideration that – in spite of its rather ironic title — “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is actually one of the saddest holiday songs ever written.

Mind you, it used to be even sadder. When Martin & Blane originally wrote this tune for MGM’s 1944 musical, “Meet Me in St. Louis,” it was supposed to musically comment on that moment in this motion picture where the Smith family had just learned that – due to Father’s promotion – they’d now all have to move to New York and thus miss out on seeing the 1904 World’s Fair.

Copyright Warner Bros. Entertainment. All rights reserved

So – as older sibling Esther (played by Judy Garland) attempted to console her heart-broken little sister Tootie (played by Margaret O’Brien) during a scene set on Christmas Eve, Ralph & Hugh had originally envisioned “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” getting underway by having Garland’s character sing:

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

It may be your last

Next year we may all be living in the past

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

Pop that champagne cork

Next year we may all be living in New York.

Judy balked at singing these lyrics as written, arguing that – if her character actually said something like that to her little sister – Esther would wind up traumatizing poor Tootie. Which would then make the audience hate her character. And when “Meet Me in St. Louis” director Vincente Minnelli (who would go on to marry Garland the following year) backed up his star, Martin & Blane were forced to soften this song’s opening stanza.

Copyright Warner Bros. Entertainment. All rights reserved

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

Let your heart be light

Next year all our troubles will be out of sight

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

Make the yuletide gay

Next year all our troubles will be miles away

When MGM released “Meet Me in St. Louis” to theaters in November of 1944, it was a smash hit for the studio. And Garland’s version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” proved to be so popular during the waning days of World War II that Decca actually released two different versions of this recording over a 6-month period. One paired this holiday tune with another Martin & Blane song from “Meet Me in St. Louis,” “The Boy Next Door.” This version was then followed up by a Decca recording that paired “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” with Garland’s performance of “You’re Never Walk Alone.” This Rodgers & Hammerstein song had quickly become a favorite after it was introduced in “Carousel,” which opened on Broadway back on April 19, 1945.

Barring some relatively minor tweaks to the song’s lyrics (i.e., “From now on” replacing the phrase “Next year”), this was the version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” that was performed from 1944 – 1957.

Copyright Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved

“So what happened in 1957?,” you ask. Well, Old Blue Eyes went into the studio at Capital Records to record his very first full-length Christmas album, “A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra.” Frank labored from May 1^st through July 10, 1957 on this recording. Working in front of an orchestra conducted by Gordon Jenkins and backed up by the Ralph Brewster Singers, he put that distinctive Sinatra spin on such holiday favorites as “Jingle Bells,” “Silent Night,” and “I’ll be Home for Christmas.”

But when it finally came time to record Frank’s version of ‘Have Yourself a Merry Christmas,” Old Blue Eyes balked. Largely because Sinatra felt that the closing stanza of this song (as it was originally written for “Meet Me in St. Louis”) …

Someday soon we all will be together

If the fates allow

Until then, we’ll have to muddle through somehow

So have yourself a merry little Christmas now

Frank Sinatra recording at Capital Studios in Hollywood in the 1950s

… was far too bleak.

So Frank reached out to Hugh Martin and supposedly said that ” … I’m working on an album called ‘A Jolly Christmas.’ I’d really like to include ‘Merry Little Christmas’ on this recording, but that ‘ … muddle through’ line is a real downer. Do you think you could jolly up that line for me?”

And given that it was now the more hopeful 1950s … Well, Hugh agreed to tweak “Merry Little Christmas” ‘s lyrics for Frank. Swapping out ” … until then, we’ll have to muddle through somehow” for ” … hang a shining star upon the highest bough.” Which then allowed this still-bittersweet holiday song to end on a more upbeat note.

Copyright Reprise / Warner Bros. All rights reserved

And since the Sinatra version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” became a smash hit … For nearly 50 years now, singers have had to make a hard choice whenever they decide to perform this holiday standard. Do they do as Judy did back in “Meet Me in St. Louis” and opt to ” … muddle through” what can often be a very emotional time of year? Or do they follow Frank’s example and offer a more hopeful view of the season? Literally reaching for the stars by hanging one ” … upon the highest bough” ?

Me? I have to admit that I’m one of those guys who embraces what Walt Disney once supposedly said (i.e.,”For every laugh, there should be a tear”). So I honestly don’t mind a little melancholy mixed in with my Merry Christmas. Which is why it kind of does my heart good to hear versions of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” like the one James Taylor performs. Where the original bittersweet message of this Martin & Blane song is basically left intact.

But how about you folks? When you’re having “A Merry Little Christmas,” which version of this holiday classic do you prefer? Are you a muddler like myself? Or do you prefer to hang a shiny star? 

This article was originally published by the Huffington Post on Saturday, December 24, 2016

Disney
Interactive Media Group and game designer, master storyteller and huge Disney
geek Warren Spector announced the sequel to last year's Wii game "Disney Epic Mickey
,"
with some changes that fans will love – or hate.  The problems with the camera that plagued
Epic Mickey will be a thing of the past, and Oswald will be a playable,
speaking character.

Traditionalists
may argue that since Oswald never had a voice in his Disney shorts, he shouldn't
talk now. However, the majority of gamers who play the Epic Mickey games won't
know this, and might find a silent character off-putting. He DID speak in Epic
Mickey, but the sounds that emanated from the characters were more like sighs
and grunts, something Warren Spector stated (in Nintendo Power Magazine) was
akin to the classic Mario games.

Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

Not
only will the characters speak in Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, they will sing!  Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two will be a
classic Disney magical, musical adventure, with songs written especially for
the game by James Dooley ("Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl
/ At World's End," "The Simpsons Movie") and Mike Himelstein ("Shrek," "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse") – note: Himelstein wrote the hilarious "Welcome to Duloc."

Oswald
will not only be a playable character for co-operative play (two people playing
together) but will also be a strong NPC (non-player character), with intuitive
AI (artificial intelligence). What do all these acronyms mean? It means that
even if you're playing alone as Mickey, Oswald will join you independently and
actually help you get along as the game progresses. This is a wonderful and
rare thing in the gaming world.

Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved

PlayStyle
Matters, which was explored a bit in the first game, will be further exploited
in the sequel. PSM means that the decisions you make as a player toward "good"
or "scrappy Mickey are actually reflected in later gameplay, Mickey with his
paint/thinner brush like in the first game, Oswald with a remote control that
controls electricity.  In Epic Mickey,
Mickey actually changed his looks depending upon whether the player played him
as kind or not.

Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
will be the first cross-platform Epic Mickey game,
playable not only on the Nintendo Wii
but also on the Xbox 360
and the PlayStation 3, introducing the story and characters to a much wider audience of
gamers.

Every family has Christmas Eve traditions. For the Hills … Well, first we eat itty-bitty pizzas. Then the family gathers in the living room, where – going from oldest to youngest – we each hang up our stocking before taking a single candy cane off of the Christmas tree.

Whereas for the Gattelli family, the holidays just weren’t complete until someone threw “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas” into the VCR. Whereupon everyone had a good cry while watching this 1977 HBO special.

Copyright 2006 The Jim Henson Company

“This really was a holiday tradition at my house,” insisted Christopher Gattelli, the Tony Award-nominated director / choreographer (Who’s probably best known to theater fans for his acclaimed work on the recent Broadway revivals of “South Pacific” and “Sunday in the Park with George”) . “I just remember bawling to ‘Emmet Otter.’ It was such a beautifully –told tale with great songs and strong character. I remember thinking as a kid that I’d love to do a holiday show like this someday.”

Now jump ahead three decades or so. And after Christopher has staged a show from the 2005 Fringe Festival that garnered a lot of attention (i.e. “Silence! The Musical.” Which was the unauthorized parody of the Academy Award-winning film, “The Silence of the Lambs
”), Timothy A. McDonald – the CEO of iTheatrics – asked for a meeting. And over lunch, McDonald asked Gattelli if there was some dream project that he really wanted to do.

(L to R) Timothy A. McDonald, Paul Williams and Christopher Gattelli at an early rehearsal for the stage version of Jim Henson’s “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas– A New Musical.” Photo by Diane Sobolewski. Copyright 2009 Goodspeed Musicals. All Rights Reserved

“And I said ‘There’s this Jim Henson special from the 1970s,’ “ Christopher remembered. “ ‘You
probably haven’t heard of it. It’s a musical retelling of O. Henry’s ‘Gift of the Magi.’ Only set in a swamp with puppets.”

As it turns out, McDonald had heard of “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas.” Timothy had recently been working with Paul Williams, who had written the score for this HBO special back in 1977. And Williams had actually been hectoring McDonald, insisting that iTheatrics take a close look at “Emmet Otter.” Because (the way Paul saw it) this Jim Henson production had the
makings of a great stage musical.

“So with Paul pushing from one side and me pushing from the other, Tim decided to reach out to The Jim Henson Company and see if they’d be interested in selling iTheatrics the theatrical rights to ‘Emmet Otter,’ “ Christopher continued. “But Henson wasn’t interested in selling the rights. They wanted to be full-on collaborators with this new stage project.”

Mind you, it took a few years to work out all the kinks (i.e. have Williams write enough new songs so that this holiday special could then become a full-blown stage musical. Not to mention Gattelli & McDonald’s effort to turn Jerry Juhl’s teleplay into a suitable libretto). Then there was the issue of where exactly to stage the world premiere of the musical version of “Emmet
Otter.”

Copyright 2009 Goodspeed Musicals. All Rights Reserved

“But once the Goodspeed Opera House expressed interest in the show … Well, you couldn’t ask for a better place to stage ‘Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas,’ “ Christopher explained. “The theater itself backs up against a marsh. And – as you walk up to the Opera House itself – you have to pass over this footbridge past all of these real animals off in the brush. So
it’s like you’re actually entering the world of Frogtown Hollow before ‘Emmet Otter’ even begins.”

Now for its first year in production at the Goodspeed, Jim Henson’s “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas – A  New Musical” was admittedly a little rushed. Since the show itself didn’t get greenlit ‘til July of 2008 … More importantly, because performances were supposed to begin at the Opera House on December 7^th of that same year … Well, the latter half of 2008 was something of a blur for Gattelli.

Puppets and human performers blend seamlessly in Goodspeed Musicals production of Jim Henson’s “Emmet Otter” at the Goodspeed Opera House. Photo by Diane Sobolewski. Copyright 2008 Goodspeed Musicals. All Rights Reserved

“We still had lots of support from The Jim Henson Company,” Christopher said. “They put a whole lot of trust in the ‘Emmet Otter’ creative team. They even let us use some of the puppets from the original 1977 HBO special as part of this stage show.“

The end result … Well, it must have been a success. Given that there was such a strong demand for “Emmet Otter” tickets that the Goodspeed Opera House had to tack two additional performances onto last year’s run.

Meg Guzulescu of West Hartford, CT learns about trust from her squirrel friends in Goodspeed Musicals production of Jim Henson’s “Emmet Otter” at the Goodspeed Opera House. Photo by Diane Sobolewski. Copyright 2009 Goodspeed Musicals. All Rights Reserved

“One of the more gratifying things about last year’s production of ‘Emmet Otter’ was that Goodspeed had this guestbook in the lobby,” Gattelli went on. “Which is how we discovered that people had come from as far away as St. Louis and Ohio just to see this show. We really must have struck a chord with fans of the original HBO special.”

Emmet Otter (Justin Bohan) and his Ma (Kathy Fitzgerald) learn that family and friends are what make holidays & everyday special in Goodspeed Musicals production of Jim Henson’s “Emmet Otter” at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, CT through January 4, 2010. Photo by Diane Sobolewski. Copyright 2009 Goodspeed
Musicals. All Rights Reserved

So if you – like Christopher – have extremely fond memories of HBO’s “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas,” you should be aware that the stage version of “Emmet Otter” has just begun a second run at the Goodspeed. Performances just got underway this past Monday and will continue
through January 4^th.

“We’ve made some minor tweaks to the book, “ Galletti admitted. “But overall, this is the same musical that delighted Henson fans last year. A show that – we’re hoping – will eventually become a holiday perennial.”

Copyright 2009 Goodspeed Musicals. All Rights Reserved

If you’d like to start a new tradition for your family by spending some of your Christmas in Connecticut
and seeing a great new holiday musical at the Goodspeed Opera House … You can do so by clicking on this link and seeing what performances are available for Jim Henson’s “Emmet Otter’s Jud-Band
Christmas.”

Just so you know, though: If last year is any indication, tickets are sure to go fast. So if you’d like to spend some of the Christmas season in Frogtown Hollow, you’d best hop to it.

Photo by Diane Sobolewski. Copyright 2008 Goodspeed Musicals. All Rights Reserved

Your thoughts?

And speaking of the holidays … If you’re planning on doing any Christmas shopping on Amazon.com this year, could you please do JHM a favor and – before you begin your online bargain hunting – click on the banner above?

If you do that … Well, Jim Hill Media then gets a teeny tiny chunk of whatever you spend. Which would be a very nice way to show your appreciation for all of the great stories that you’ve read on this website over the past year.

Happy Holidays!