Sat. Dec. 22

 Last call! Brian O’Donovan, host of WGBH’s “A Celtic Sojourn,” put on a Christmas show at the Somerville Theater in 2003 on, he says,  “a whim.” I had been broadcasting national versions of ‘A Christmas Celtic Sojourn’ for a number of years,” he says. “I love doing radio in the context of a holiday and Christmas gives you a license to be sentimental, whereas another time someone might say “Come on!’ So, I said ‘Let’s try this at The Somerville Theatre, sketch it out and make it like the Christmas radio program with poetry, dancing, some Christmas songs. Make it a seamless blend.” The over-riding idea: “How do we create a Christmas party?”
    O’Donovan’s whim of an idea grew to more and more (soldout) shows over the years, and it also moved to the 1200-seat Cutler Majestic Theatre, O’Donovan’s thinking: “This could be a nice downtown event, more of an occasion.” This year, there are eight performances of “A Christmas Celtic Sojourn Live,” and it wraps up Friday Dec. 21 and Saturday Dec. 22. (There are also shows in New York.)
    “I had a notion that this wasn’t just a concert,” says O’Donovan. “I wanted it to have a theatrical aspect to it."

"I asked Paula Plum to become artistic director, and she’s been with us from start. She brought her staff along, and we created at atmosphere. We made it simple, very homey. I look like the Irish equivalent of Alistair Cooke. I came out with a cup of tea and sat there and was the host. It sounds kind of hokey, but it put the audience in the mood for what we wanted to do.”
    “This year is amazing,” says O’Donovan, who notes there will be up to 20 musicians involved in the two-hour show. Solas is the nominal headliner. “They’re a long-running cutting edge band,” O’Donovan says, “but they’ll focus more on their traditional roots.” But it’s not an opener/headliner kind of show. O’Donovan says it’s not a show of “separate acts, but a blend, and I’m on stage all the time.” So: You get singer-songwriter-guitarist Dougie MacLean, Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas, dancer Kieran Jordan (plus three others in her troupe) and singer Aoife O’Donovan, who is, indeed, Brian’s daughter.  (It’s not nepotism; Aoife plays in clubs and fronts a group called Crooked Still, with plays old-time American music with a twist.)
     What’s the religious component? It is Christmas after all. “We sometimes joke that it’s the most popular Jewish show in Boston,” says O’Donovan. “WGBH has been our presenting partner and it appeals to that audience – very diverse, educated and a large Jewish support base. This show is unabashedly Christmas, but it isn’t ‘knock you over the head Christmas.’ It celebrates the warmth of Christmas. It’s the darkest time of the year and we’re gathering warmth inside.” Thursday and Friday shows (the 20th and 21st) are at 8. The remaining Saturday shows (the 22nd) are at 3 and 8 and today, Sunday (the 16th) is at 3. Tickets: $75-$25. Take a look at previous Sojourns at http://youtube.com/watch?v=6qzWnnLvRdI You can also buy a Rounder-released CD or DVD of last year's run.

219 Tremont St., 800-233-3123 www.wgbh.org/celtic