nimbus theatre is back with another Hallmark holiday movie spoof, their third in three years. The first one,
A Count Up to Christmas, was a lot of fun and chock full of cliches of those types of movies. As often happens, the sequel,
A Very Electric Christmas, was still fun but not as good as the first one; it was a bit rough with a convoluted plot. I'm happy to report that the third play in the trilogy,
Take Two for Christmas, is back to the fun of the original, and might even be my favorite of the three. It's got all of the tropes needed for a holiday rom-com: a small town invaded by city folk, a frozen lake, a gazebo to save, and a sweet romance (or two). The design is cozy festive and the cast is all in on the spoofy fun premise. Whether you love or love to hate the Hallmark Christmas movie,
Take Two for Christmas is a fun way to celebrate that live on stage.
See it at the Crane Theater in Northeast Minneapolis through December 22.
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hanging out at The Slippery Slope
(Derek Dirlam, Christy Johnson, Jeffrey Goodson,
and Emmanuel Woods, photo courtesy of nimbus) |
This year's show was inspired by the faux ads during last year's show, which was in turn inspired by the ads from the first show. As this is the final show in the trilogy, they don't have any of these ads for upcoming "movies" in the show this year, but the show itself is so engaging I didn't even miss them. Our story centers on the Hollywood blockbuster movie
The Fast and the Festivus: Glacial Drift, a play on
The Fast and the Furious franchise, but set in a snowy icy landscape. When the producer decides on a whim that he wants the movie to film on location instead of a Hollywood set, hard-working assistant director Alexis (Tara Lucchino) has to scramble to find a suitable snowy location, and stumbles upon the charming small town of Comet Lake, Wisconsin thanks to the viral Tik Tok account of its football coach/drama teacher Coach Dibbs (Jeffery Goodson). The whole production comes to town, including closeted heartthrob actor Wase Chisel (newcomer to the nimbus stage Drew Pannebecker). The town welcomes them because they need a quick influx of cash to save the historic gazebo built by town founder Josiah Gazebo (so stupid it's funny). The L.A. people, also including esteemed director Lilian C. Wolf (Jane Hammill), and the Comet Lake residents, a master chef and owner of the Slippery Slope Bar (Christy Johnson), a precocious and ambitious 12-year-old (Emmanuel L. Woods), and proprietor of the Paperwork Bookstore (Derek Dirlam), work together to accomplish their goals, but not without a few misunderstandings along the way.
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Wase (Drew Pannebecker) gets direction from Alexis
(Tara Luccino, photo courtesy of nimbus) |
Co-Artistic Director Liz Neerland wrote and directed the play, and filled it with plenty of puns and cliches, poking fun at the genre while still celebrating what we love about it. The cast is in on the joke, many of them pulling double or triple duty as multiple characters, and also get to have fun in the dramatic action movie-within-a-play. Jeffrey is a hoot as the drama/football coach, mixing theater and sports metaphors with charming sincerity. Drew is a welcome addition to the cast (the rest of whom have been in one if not both of the previous holiday shows), drawing on his physical theater training for some fun physical comedy, and believably portraying the Hollywood star who's more than he appears. His romance with Derek's bookstore owner character, who knows nothing about pop culture or technology, is really sweet, and the heart of the show.
Scenic designer Ursula K Bowden has created a winter wonderland inside the Crane Theater, with snow covered trees, twinkling lights, and a frozen lake. We see the homey Slippery Slope bar on one side, the Papercut Bookstore on the other (featuring magazines with Wase on the cover), and the all-important gazebo built around the entrance to the theater, so we all get to walk through it. The back wall is covered with a grid of lights that blink in different colors and patterns, adding to the festive feeling. Costumes range from the director's chic outfits, to the locals' plaid and jeans, to the black leather for the movie characters. (Property design by Jenny Moeller, lighting design by Jon Kirchhofer, costume design by Rubble&Ash.)
