Boiler Room Theatre's original revue, "A Hard-Boiled Christmas" provides chuckles and worthy musical moments
by Martin BradyArticle Tools
Boiler Room Theatre answers the question, "What Christmas show do we do this year?" by coming up with its own original revue. The result, A Hard-Boiled Christmas, is on the more plebeian side—when compared to The Nutcracker, anyway—but at least the scenarios concocted by co-authors Jamey Green and Sarah Morgan are varied and generally entertaining, poking silly fun at the holidays as often as they strive for the usual spiritedness.
Act 1 is a real smorgasbord of yuletide japery, and if it's music you want, Green (who also directs and leads the small combo) has hauled in everything within earshot of an ASCAP licensing agreement, beginning with a rousing opening medley anchored by "We Need a Little Christmas" from Mame. The 10 scenes that follow exploit typical Christmas icons (Santa, Rudolph, etc.), and are infused with both madcap and merry versions of familiar favorites, ranging from "Frosty the Snowman" and "Let It Snow" through a host of traditional carols ("Joy to the World," "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "Silent Night," the latter neatly and sincerely signed for the deaf) and an excerpt from Handel's Messiah.
Few of the musical selections come as a surprise, of course, but those that do, like Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmas Time" and Michael W. Smith's "Emmanuel," prove that if you dig deeply enough into the catalog you can sprinkle your holiday festivities with a little more color than usual. Mel Torme's "The Christmas Song" features some challenging and appealing vocal harmonies, and the wholly original "December Love," written by Green and Kathy Shepard, is a refreshing ballad that successfully steps out of the show's satirical mode and delivers genuine warmth.
Meanwhile, there's a very funny lampoon of "The 12 Days of Christmas," another scene where a couple of sexy reindeers come on to Santa (much to Mrs. Claus' chagrin), and the act-closing re-creation of a cheesy TV holiday special, The Bing Martin Williams Anniversary Christmas Special 1985, highlighted by "surprise" appearances by Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Meat Loaf and The Bangles' Susanna Hoffs.
Act 2 opens with a chaotic grammar school Christmas pageant, with adult actors portraying confused and talentless kiddies. As testament to the slapdash nature of this entire enterprise, that setup summarily morphs into a play within the play, The White Christmas Bells of Saint Murray's on 34th Street, which manages to cram in lots of Hollywood clichés (a Grinch-y Mr. Potter type, a Jimmy Stewart knockoff) within its "What will happen to the orphans?" plot, including characters named Nurse Betty, Clarence and Gimble. A musical finale places a mirthful if cockeyed bow on the proceedings.
The cast of nine features a high-schooler (Taylor Green) and two grade-schoolers (Hope Dyra, Luke Dyra), whose youth is exploited in a running gag implying backstage tension between them and the grown-up performers. That gimmick gets a chuckle or two, but the show's strongest moments reside with BRT regulars Megan Murphy, Scott Rice, Sondra Morton, Laura Thomas Sonn, W. Scott Stewart and Jack E. Chambers. They're a motley crew unto themselves but manage to rise above the unevenness of the sketches to provide laughs and capable singing.
A Hard-Boiled Christmas is being performed in repertory with Alfred Uhry's The Last Night of Ballyhoo, a straight play with more serious undertones, some humor and also a seasonal setting. Check the BRT website for the schedule.
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