Two Pottsville natives came home for Christmas to present a "A Majestic Christmas" on Monday night to benefit the Sovereign Majestic Theater.
Bradley Dean and Ron Stabinsky took to the stage to perform a sold-out holiday concert, which started at 7 p.m. at the theater.
"We are so grateful you came out to keep the arts alive in Schuylkill County," Dean said. "We are going to be playing some of my favorites for you."
Dean, New York City, is a veteran of many Broadway shows, having performed with such legends as Barry Manilow, Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters and Catherine Zeta-Jones, while Stabinsky, who now resides in the Wilkes-Barre area, is a pianist extraordinaire, having performed at many well-known venues.
Dean graduated from Pottsville Area High School in 1988, and Stabinsky in 1991.
Both came home to Pottsville to "give back" to the community that - through the years - supported and applauded their many accomplishments.
Sandy Kost-Sterner, chairwoman of the event, said that there was no set program Monday night.
Some of the songs Dean and Stabinsky played included "Linus and Lucy," a popular jazz piano tune by Vince Guaraldi that appeared in many of the Peanuts animated television specials, and "I'll Be Home For Christmas," among other Christmas classics.
While singing and performing on stage, Dean brought humor to the show by running out in pajamas at the beginning of the concert and yelling, "I didn't know we were dressing up."
"That was far from a good joke," Dean later said, after coming back out in a suit.
In addition to the stars of the show, several area performers were also invited to sing at the event.
The students are all part of the Pottsville Gymnastics & Theatrical Center Inc. Performing Arts program and have been participants in workshops with Dean in New York City that are sponsored by Pottsville GTC.
The soloists were Reiley Lonergan, Kayla Sabol and Jacob Tarconish, and the additional singers included Kylee Clark, Morgan Flick, Celena Granito, Jeffrey Lazarchick, Sara Leibel, Gabrielle Quandel, Kieffer Quandel and Lauren Tidmore. Members of the Pottsville GTC "Spotlight Kidz" Performance Squad also performed.