The ‘Ghosts’ that never die: TSO again resurrects stage version of TV classic

It was supposed to be a television special, the kind of thing that PBS stations air during their pledge drives.

Then it became a stage experiment that was supposed to play in a few cities in 2015 and then be put to rest.

But “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve” has become an exceptionally popular show for Trans-Siberian Orchestra. On Sunday, TSO brings “Ghosts” to Amalie Arena for the third time.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra, the prog-rock group best known for its Christmas arena concerts, evolved out of Savatage, a metal band that got its start playing clubs in Tampa Bay. Savatage went on to become one of the biggest metal acts in the world.

Savatage hooked up with writer-producer Paul O’Neill, and together they created Trans-Siberian Orchestra in the mid-1990s.

TSO reportedly has sold more than 10 million concert tickets and more than 10 million albums.

One of TSO’s first big successes was a 1999 television special titled “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve,” written by O’Neill and starring Ossie Davis.

In 2015, O’Neill and company adapted the TV special for the stage, and audiences around the country loved it. TSO has toured the country with the show for the past three Christmas seasons.

The show integrated segments of the TV broadcast with a live narrator and a full rock band.

O’Neill was a New Yorker but he died earlier this year in a hotel in Tampa, where the band had its beginnings.

Details: 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 17, Amalie Arena, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa. $32.25, $42.25, $52.25, $62.25 and $72.25 plus service charge. 813-301-2500, amaliearena.com.

This story was originally published December 12, 2017 at 10:03 AM with the headline "The ‘Ghosts’ that never die: TSO again resurrects stage version of TV classic."