‘It just leaves me full’: Broadway star, actor perform at Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert
Dec 20, 2024, 4:50 PM | Updated: Dec 22, 2024, 7:36 am
SALT LAKE CITY — A Broadway star and actor wowed the audience during the first night of the annual Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square Christmas concert.
Ruthie Ann Miles, a Tony Award winner who starred in “McNeal” on Broadway, took the stage in the Conference Center Thursday evening to perform with the 360-voice choir.
“I have listened to the Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra for a very long time,” Miles said Friday morning during a news conference in Salt Lake City. “I could never have imagined that one day I might be on the stage and performing with them.”
Dennis Haysbert, star of television and film, joined Miles as this year’s concert narrator. He has connections to Utah as his brother, Adam Haysbert, played for Brigham Young University’s 1984 national champion football team.
Guest artists Ruthie Ann Miles and Dennis Haysbert speak about the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concerts in Salt Lake City on Dec. 20, 2024. (Istvan Bartos, KSL TV)
“It just leaves me full,” Haysbert said of the Christmas concert, which kicked off Thursday evening. There are also performances scheduled for Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. in the 21,000-seat venue, which is open to full capacity for the first time in several years.
“I have not sang in a space this large at this magnitude that also feels somehow like a Broadway house,” Miles said. “Very close, very easy to connect with people. I can see people’s eyeballs. I can look straight into people’s eyes and speak with them, which is my favorite way of telling stories.”
During the concert, Haysbert lends his iconic voice to tell the story of Dr. Charles Mulli, from Kenya, who was abandoned as a child but went on to serve many orphaned and disadvantaged children.
Guest artist Dennis Haysbert speaks about the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concerts in Salt Lake City on Dec. 20, 2024. (Istvan Bartos, KSL TV)
Haysbert became emotional Thursday night as he shared the story, which he touched on Friday when speaking with reporters.
“It is really hard to get through the story. But I love the feeling that comes over me when I do tell it,” Haysbert said. “I think everyone on the planet should hear stories like this because I believe it would bring everyone closer together because we are all we have, and I wish people would really understand that.”
Mulli himself makes an appearance during the concert, which earned a standing ovation from the audience at Thursday’s performance. He told KSL TV he’s pleased with how his story is portrayed.
Guest artists Ruthie Ann Miles and Dennis Haysbert and Dr. Charles Mulli speak about the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concerts in Salt Lake City on Dec. 20, 2024. (Istvan Bartos, KSL TV)
“I feel so much honored,” Mulli said. “I feel so much loved.”
The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square have been putting on Christmas concerts like this for 25 years. But Mack Wilberg, the music director, said each one is unique.
“Every concert takes on a life of its own and has a particular meaning for the year,” Wilberg said.
This year’s message, he noted, is about hope and serving others.
“We hope that people take away the spirit of hope and of giving yet more service to the world,” Wilberg said.
Tickets are required for the concert. For those without tickets, a standby line forms in the Tabernacle on Temple Square 90 minutes before each performance.
