Ring Christmas Bells [DVD] with Edward Herrmann, Brian Stokes Mitchell Following the success of last year’s CD Rejoice and Be Merry, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir presents Ring Christmas Bells, the next musical masterpiece in a series of highly acclaimed and commercially successful holiday albums. Featuring Brian Stokes Mitchell, dubbed by the New York Times as “Broadway’s last leading man,” and Edward Herrmann (Gilmore Girls; Nixon), Ring Christmas Bells is a holiday experience every family will want to have. Continue reading...

Guest Artists

Edward Herrmann
Edward Herrmann is known for his uncanny portrayal of American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the made-for-TV movie, Eleanor and Franklin (1976) and the sequel, Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years (1977) (both of which earned him Best Actor Emmy nominations), as well as the first feature film adaptation of the Broadway musical Annie (1982). Herrmann portrayed Herman Munster in the Fox made for TV movie Here Come The Munsters in 1995.

Herrmann also earned an Emmy in 1999 for his guest appearances on The Practice and a Tony Award in 1976 for his performance in Mrs. Warren's Profession. He was nominated for a Tony for Plenty in 1983 and Emmys in 1986 and 1987 for his guest-starring role as Father Joseph McCabe on St. Elsewhere. Herrmann also played Tobias Beecher's father on Oz. From 2000 to 2007, he portrayed Richard Gilmore in a recurring role on the CW's Gilmore Girls.

Herrmann's film career began in the mid-1970s, playing supporting roles as Robert Redford's partner in The Great Waldo Pepper, a law student in The Paper Chase, and the idle, piano-playing Klipspringer in The Great Gatsby. Among Herrmann's better known roles are as Goldie Hawn's rich husband in Overboard, Reverend Michael Hill in Disney's The North Avenue Irregulars, one of the characters in the film-within-a-film in Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo, and as Max, the mild-mannered head vampire in the teen vampire film The Lost Boys.

Herrmann is also known for his voluminous voice work for The History Channel and various PBS specials, and has been the "voice of Dodge" for twelve years. His voice work also includes dozens of audio books, including Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. Herrmann is a well-known automotive enthusiast and restores classic automobiles. He is the MC for the Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance every August and hosts the television show Automobiles on The History Channel.

Brian Stokes Mitchell
Dubbed “The Last Leading Man” by the New York Times, Brian Stokes Mitchell has enjoyed a rich and varied career on Broadway, television and film, along with appearances in the great American concert halls.

His musical versatility has kept him in demand by some of the country’s finest conductors and orchestras. He has performed selections from “Porgy and Bess” with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony at Carnegie Hall; Performed works by Aaron Copland and various contemporary composers at the Hollywood Bowl with the L.A. Philharmonic under the batons of Leonard Slatkin and John Mauceri; Broadway tunes at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC under the baton of Marvin Hamlisch (most recently at the National Symphony Orchestra’s 75th season Pops concert debut), and Jazz and standards with Maestro John Williams at Disney Hall and with the Boston Pops. He recently debuted pulitzer prize winning composer David Del Tredici’s “Rip Van Winkle” with the National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Leonard Slatkin.

He reprised his Tanglewood performance in John Williams’ Jazz version of “My Fair Lady” last December at Disney Hall singing with Dianne Reeves.In 2005 he made his cabaret debut as both singer and musical arranger in New York at Feinstein’s at the Regency in his critically acclaimed one-man show “Love/Life” which then moved to the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center. He received both the New York Bistro and Nightlife awards for his cabaret debut. He returned there in November of 2008 with a critically acclaimed concert where he was accompanied by a guitarist, a bassist and a percussionist.

He headlined the Carnegie Hall concert presentation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's “South Pacific” with Reba McEntire, which aired on PBS in the Spring of 2006. It was also released on DVD and CD . He reprised his role along with Reba McEntire in July of 2007 at the Hollywood bowl then returned to The Hollywood bowl in August of 2008 starring as Javert in Les Miserables.

His Broadway career includes performances in “Man of La Mancha” (Tony nomination and Helen Hayes Award); “Kiss Me Kate” (Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards); “Ragtime” (Tony nomination); August Wilson’s “King Hedley II” (Tony nomination); “Kiss of the Spider Woman;” “Jelly’s Last Jam;” David Merrick’s “Oh, Kay!” and “Mail,” which earned him a Theatre World award for outstanding Broadway Debut.

At Encores he has starred in “Do, Re, Mi” and “Carnival” and this last season starred in “Kismet.” In 1998 he joined the likes of Helen Hayes, Sir John Gielgud, Alec Guinness and James Earl Jones when he became the sole recipient of that year’s Distinguished Performance Award from the Drama League, the nation’s oldest theatrical honor, for his performance in “Ragtime.”

His long television career began with a seven year stint on “Trapper John, MD.” Numerous film and TV appearances more recently include “One Last Thing” which debuted at this year’s Toronto Film Festival, recurring roles on “Crossing Jordan” and “Frasier,” PBS’ “Great Performances,” DreamWorks’ “The Prince of Egypt ,” and his “Presidential Debut” in “The Singer and the Song” from the White House.

In 2006 he released his self-titled album as the inaugural artist on the newly -formed Playbill Records label. In addition to singing, Stokes produced the album and also wrote many of the arrangements and orchestrations. The executive producers are Playbill Record’s president, Philip Birsh and Richard-Jay Alexander . It was mixed by 15-time Grammy winner Al Schmitt and the liner notes were penned by John Williams. For more information, visit www.Playbillrecords.com

He continues to perform as both a soloist and a guest star at concerts all over the United States. In December of 2008 he is performing as the musical guest artist at “Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square”. The concert will be aired on PBS during Christmas of 2009.

For more information visit Brian Stokes Mitchell Official Web Site

ach year, the Christmas concert presented by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square is seen by more than 85,000 people live and by millions more via television broadcast. It is a fullscale production featuring world- class musicians, soloists, dancers, narrators, and music that leaves viewers in awe of the Choir’s unmatched magnitude and musicality. Following the success of last year’s CD Rejoice and Be Merry, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir presents Ring Christmas Bells, the next musical masterpiece in a series of highly acclaimed and commercially successful holiday albums. Featuring Brian Stokes Mitchell, dubbed by the New York Times as “Broadway’s last leading man,” and Edward Herrmann (Gilmore Girls; Nixon), Ring Christmas Bells is a holiday experience every family will want to have.