Beloved MIAC artist Melissa Errico returns with a new holiday concert
Melissa Errico: The Secret Diary of Mrs. Santa is sold out. To join the waitlist, call the box office at 814-824-3000 (Tues.-Thurs., noon-5 p.m.). If tickets are returned or additional seats are released, we’ll contact patrons in the order requests are received.
Tony-nominated Broadway singer, actress, recording artist, and author Melissa Errico reunites with America’s great piano man, Billy Stritch, on Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 7:30 p.m. in Mercyhurst University’s Walker Recital Hall for their fourth holiday season together—this time with a brand-new show, “The Secret Diary of Mrs. Santa.”
Through beloved American Songbook classics and inventive twists on holiday favorites, Errico offers a playful portrait of life at the North Pole: romantic mischief (“Baby, It’s Cold Outside”), toy-making joys (“When She Loved Me”), a moving reconciliation (“I’ll Be Home for Christmas”), and sparkling selections like “Rudolph,” “Always True to You in My Fashion,” and “Sleigh Ride,” along with clever parodies including “Too Darn Cold” and a hard-swinging “Holiday Feeling.” A fiery jazz trio rounds out an evening certain to become a seasonal highlight.
Widely praised for her dazzling artistry, Errico has been hailed as “a true Broadway superstar at the peak of her powers” and celebrated by The New York Times, which writes: “Any chance to hear Melissa Errico sing is a chance not to be missed.” London critics agree, calling her concerts “a perfect night out!” and praising how she and her band “combine all the best from musical theatre and underground jazz.” BroadwayWorld adds, “one song after another, Melissa Errico has her audience sighing, crying, cheering, and melting in their seats… or laughing, laughing, laughing.”
Touring the world with her acclaimed thematic concerts—from Singapore to Paris to San Francisco—Errico has carved out a singular niche in theatre and jazz. At her Carnegie Hall debut, Steven Reineke, principal conductor of the New York Pops, introduced her as “a unique force in the musical life of New York City: a Broadway star, a concert artist, and an author who regularly contributes essays to The New York Times. There’s really no one like her!”
Errico first appeared with the Mercyhurst Institute for Arts & Culture in October 2020 in a livestreamed program of songs and stories hosted by MIAC Artistic Director Dr. Brett D. Johnson. She returned in April 2022 for a ravishing concert of works by Michel Legrand—with additional songs by Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim, and Randy Newman—performed on the stage of the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center. In September 2023, she headlined MIAC’s film-noir-inspired soirée, followed in November 2024 by a new program of Sondheim songs celebrating her album “Sondheim In The City,” hailed by The New York Times as “a New York house tour of thrill and heartbreak… from one of Sondheim’s deepest-hearted yet lightest-touch interpreters.” Her most recent MIAC collaboration, “Diva to Diva,” features intimate onstage conversations with fellow artists about the joys and challenges of concert and cabaret performance. The series is available at https://www.youtube.com/@MIACHurst.
Her international engagements have included a Paris duet with Isabelle Georges broadcast on Radio France and a sold-out cabaret at Le Bal Blomet, as well as opening for music icon George Benson at the Montreal Jazz Festival to rapturous response. She made her London concert-hall debut singing Sondheim on July 12, 2025, and has expanded into symphonic work with two successful orchestral appearances in the U.S. and Canada.
Her recent projects include a holiday series with the Syracuse Symphony conducted by Tedd Firth, a musical reverie of WWI for The Doughboy Foundation, and a new album, “I Can Dream, Can’t I: Illusions & Conversations from The Great American Songbook,” with Firth. Tour dates are available at https://melissaerrico.com/calendar/.
First known for her starring roles on Broadway—including “My Fair Lady,” “High Society,” “Anna Karenina,” “White Christmas,” “Dracula,” and “Les Misérables”—Errico has also built a wide-ranging career in television and film. She starred in the CBS series “Central Park West” and appeared on “Blue Bloods,” “The Knick,” and Showtime’s “Billions.” Onstage, she has played numerous non-musical roles by Shaw and Oscar Wilde, including “Dear Liar” in spring 2023, portraying George Bernard Shaw’s original Eliza Doolittle.
Errico is currently developing her collected New York Times essays, “Scenes from an Acting Life,” into a book. She has three daughters and is married to tennis player and journalist Patrick McEnroe.
Tickets, priced $45–$55, may be purchased online at miac.universitytickets.com, by phone at 814-824-3000, or in person at the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center box office (Tues.–Thurs., noon–5 p.m.). A $5 per-ticket processing fee applies to all orders.
This performance is made possible through the generous support of Make It Fabulous Catering & Events. The 2025–26 MIAC Live season is sponsored by Alan & Patti Schaal and VNET, with additional support from the Greater Erie Alliance for Equality and the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority.