By James V. Ruocco
And for the gazillionth time, Ebenezer Scrooge, George Bailey, Tiny Tim, Kris Kringle, Clarence the Angel and The Nutcracker Prince, among others, take center stage as their stories are replayed and replayed in traditional holiday fare all across the globe right before the first snowfall and the anticipated arrival of that jolly, old, bearded man in red.
But be, forewarned.
"Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!)," the comic brainchild of Michael Carleton, James Fitzgerald and John K. Alvarez, will have none of this gumdrop gooey humbug.
As the play opens, Charles Dickens' beloved holiday classic "A Christmas Carol" takes backseat to the trio's wild and giddy sleigh ride of holiday storytelling that twists and distorts one holiday favorite after another in favor of jokes, sketches, ballets, songs, traditions and yuletide giddyap orchestrated strictly for laughter's sake and rambunctious irreverence.
That silliness - mixed with clever, funny, eccentric and exaggerated satirization - is shaken and stirred with wicked abandon and gag-and-giggle merriment in Castle Craig Players hilariously staged mounting of "Every Christmas A Story Ever Told (And Then Some!)," a two-comedy that gives holiday staples a hyperactive glimmer, a super-charged caffeination and a wildly caricatured dash-and-dare artifice.
Some of it is scripted.
Some of it is improvised.
Some if it based on wrong cues and on-stage mishaps.
Some it involves the audience.
Some of it springs up out of nowhere.
No matter.
With the accent on laughter, the chaotic fun that ensues is amazing, well-choreographed and chock full of strength and personality.
As scripted by Carleton, Fitzgerald and Alvarez, nothing is sacred, and everything is up for grabs. In addition to playful, well-timed jibes about "A Christmas Carol," "The Nutcracker," "It's a Wonderful Life," "The Gift of the Magi," and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," the play includes playful bits about Sally Field, Donald Trump, fruitcake, Santa's elves, Florida, Iceland, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas in Sweden, Christmas in Germany, Natalie Wood, Bob Dylan, Wales, The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Charlie Brown, Dr. Seuss and Frosty the Snowman.
Act II includes a well-orchestrated parody of several traditional Christmas songs with different lyrics and mashups harmoniously delivered in unison by cast members Bobby Schultz, Rick Bennett and Chris Brooks. There's also a lengthy, ingenious story arc that reimagines both "A Christmas Carol" and "It's a Wonderful Life" as seen through the eyes of both Ebenezer Scrooge and George Bailey.
No spoilers, please.
For Castle Craig Players, "Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!)" has been staged by the husband-and-wife team of Carleigh and Bobby Schultz, two very accomplished actors and directors with a boatload of credits from various state venues including Connecticut Cabaret Theatre. Here, they craft a festive, inspired holiday satire, suffused with just the right amount of dash and vigor to make the production fly, strum, invigorate, convince and never once run out of steam.
What's important here is the comedy itself. Timing, delivery, beat, rhythm, push, pull and pause are all essential to the piece, its concept, its evolution, its command and its connection to both the actor and the audience. It's in these moments that both Schultz's come into their own.
One-liners get the punch and snap they deserve. Moments of silliness abound with flair and triggered acumen. Improvised bits between actor and audience, which change from performance to performance, fit seamlessly into the fabric of the comedic storytelling at hand. Sketches unfold with point, squeeze, humor and hammy chaos. The goosey arsenal of the actual script also plays out with the decided relish, camp and gait envisioned by the show's creators.
"Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!)" stars Bobby Schultz as Bobby, Rick Bennett as Rick and Chris Brooks as Chris. Very much a team effort, this ensemble of performers come to the Castle Craig stage skilled in the stage mechanics of satire, punctuated with splendid dashes of flawless comic timing, ceaseless energy, wide-eyed pleasure and do-or-die, on the spot improvisational mindset. Acting alone, as a pair or as a trio, they are in complete control of the night's precision-drilled lunacy, its breakneck pacing, its shifts in character and tone, its over-extended origins, its full-on gallop, its verve, its evident joy and its wackadoodle mischief.
It's full force gun blazing - pulled off magnificently from start to finish.
A madcap mix of energy, slapstick, roar and holiday cheer, "Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!)" bounces up and down with wonderfully played shenanigans and gamboling that pops and hops with delightful, creative aplomb.
It is a funny immersive theatrical experience that glides into view with chuckles, excitement and belly laughs galore, all wrapped merrily around those familiar Christmas stories audiences know and love.
As translated to the stage by co-directors Carleigh and Bobby Schultz, it unspools with paraded enthusiasm and aesthetic, all clocked and readied with recognized achievement and improvisation using every opportunity imaginable to thrust its trio of players into the spotlight for one crazy situation after another, some of which involves actual members of the audience.
In turn, no two shows are alike.
Regardless, it's all in good fun.
It's goofy and spirited.
It's festive goodwill.
It's everything you expected it to be.
And it's exactly the kind of present - ticket, that is - you'd want to find under your Christmas tree this holiday season.
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