Holiday Magic Meets Musical Comedy in Malibu

"What the Queen's Cartoonists offer is a more unpredictable experience. The audience has no idea what music they will hear or even what cartoons they will watch, and what elements of comedy may be added. There are costumes, party whistles, clackers, tambourines, paper cups being tossed around, all adding to creating various sound effects." 
—"All Things Considered," NPR

"The Queen's Cartoonists can make a jazz lover out of anyone." 
—The San Diego Union Tribune

Malibu, CA – Nov. 10, 2023 – Multimedia musical comedy experience The Queen's Cartoonists bring their holiday performance, "Holiday Hurrah," to Smothers Theatre on the Pepperdine University’s Malibu campus on Sunday, Dec. 3, at 5 p.m. 

The Queen’s Cartoonists bring new life to classic cartoons with contemporary animation. Their performances are synchronized to video projections of the original films, and the band leads the audience through a world of virtuosic musicianship, multi-instrumental mayhem and comedy. In “Holiday Hurrah,” The Queen’s Cartoonists have set out to find the best of the best (and best of the worst) holiday-related cartoons, films, and jazz. The show includes traditional holiday vocal numbers such as “White Christmas” and “Jingle Bells” paired with jazz arrangements and festive animated films.

The band is led by Dr. Joel Pierson at the piano and includes Greg Hammontree (trumpet, trombone), Mark Phillips (clarinet, soprano saxophone), Drew Pitcher (flute, tenor saxophone), Rossen Nedelchev (drums) and a rotating cast of bassists. Guest vocalist Tara Lynne Khaler will join The Queen's Cartoonists for the “Holiday Hurrah” performance at Pepperdine.

"For a lot of us, it's just not the holidays until we watch our favorite seasonal cartoons," said Rebecca Carson, Managing Director of the Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts. "We are thrilled to welcome The Queen's Cartoonists back to Pepperdine to help us all get into the holiday spirit! The Queen's Cartoonists are incredibly talented musicians, and this show will be great fun for the entire family." 

Tickets are available now and priced at $22.50-$45 for the public, $22.50 for youth 17 and younger, and $10 for full-time Pepperdine students. To purchase tickets, visit the event page or call the Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts box office at (310) 506-4522. 

Event Details

WHAT: The Queen’s Cartoonists' "Holiday Hurrah"
WHEN:  Sunday, Dec. 3, 5 p.m.
WHERE: Smothers Theatre, Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA
TICKETS: Visit the event page or call the Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts box office at (310) 506-4522
PRICES: $22.50-$45 for the public,  $22.50 for youth 17 and younger, $10 for Pepperdine students. 

About The Queen's Cartoonists

The Queen’s Cartoonists perform music from cartoons! Pulling from over 100 years of animation from around the world, The Queen’s Cartoonists bring animated films to life, perfectly synchronizing their performances with the films projected on stage. The band matches the energy of the cartoons, leading the audience through a world of virtuosic musicianship, multi-instrumental mayhem, and comedy.

Projections of animated films dazzle the audience, while the band re-creates original soundtracks note-for-note, or writes their own fresh compositions to modern pieces, all the while breathing new life into two uniquely American forms of art: jazz and animation. Tying everything together is the TQC brand of comedy—anecdotes about the cartoons and their composers, stream-of-consciousness humor, and elements of a musical circus. Watch your favorite classic cartoon characters interact with the musicians on stage, and expect the unexpected from the Golden Age of Animation, cult cartoon classics, and modern animated films. Inspired by the cross-roads of jazz, classical music, and cartoons, TQC features Jazz Age composers like Carl Stalling, Raymond Scott, and John Kirby, alongside classical giants Mozart, Rossini and Strauss (to name just a few).

The six members of The Queen’s Cartoonists, all now residing in Queens, New York, originally hail from four continents. TQC has performed in a wide variety of venues, including opening for the New York Philharmonic, selling out the Blue Note Jazz Club, a residency at Konzerthaus Berlin, and an extended run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. They have been featured in over fifty publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, The L.A. Times, The San Diego Tribune, The Houston Chronicle, NPR, and Mashable.

About the Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts

Delighting more than 50,000 patrons and participants annually with live performances, art exhibitions, and local outreach opportunities, the Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts serves as a hub for the arts on Pepperdine University’s Malibu campus, uniquely linking professional guest artists with Pepperdine students as well as patrons from surrounding Southern California communities. Three performance spaces, including the 450-seat Smothers Theatre, the 124-seat Raitt Recital Hall, and the “black box” Lindhurst Theatre, host hundreds of performances, rehearsals, and master classes throughout the year. The Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art, a dynamic, two-story exhibition space, showcases a revolving selection of modern and contemporary art with a focus on art made in California.

Media Assets

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Media Contact

Ericka Sherrill
Marketing and Publicity Manager, Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts
ericka.sherrill@pepperdine.edu
310.506.4055