Barry Ivan, the director/choreographer who did such a great job on HAIRSPRAY at North Shore Music Theatre this past fall was featured in The New York Times on Sunday. Not in the Arts & Leisure section, but in the N.Y./Region section -- the article talks about the phenomenon of hiring professionals to decorate your house for the holidays.

From the article "When A Hired Hand Does the Holiday Trimming" in the Sunday December 3, 2006 edition of The New York Times:

For Mr. Fancher, the pleasure comes in creating unusual displays, as he is this year for Barry Ivan, a theater director and choreographer whose most recent production was "Hairspray" at the North Shore Music Theater in Beverly, Mass. For Mr. Ivan's vintage country home in Brookfield, Conn., Mr. Fancher will use the theme of bringing the outside in and the inside out. For example, trees just outside the house will be lighted so they are visibly incorporated into the decorating inside.

"Friends have come to expect something rather theatrical when they come to visit me at the holiday," Mr. Ivan said. "I'm used to working with sets, lights, costumes and hair designers, and I began to work with him that way. We got into this mode of collaboration."

Mr. Fancher said: "It's neat working with him. I almost feel like we're choreographing the house."

That sounds really cool!

Let's do the whole combination facing away from the evergreen!

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