Specator Online - December 13, 2000

A Surprising Package

Open Door's The Eight offers a thought-provoking look at the holidays

Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus... and you better believe he's not at all like you've been told, according to Open Door's delivery of The Eight: Reindeer Monologues, an anything-but-family show in which individual members of Santa's dream team, simply referred to as "The Eight," relay to us different parts and versions of a new holiday tale which could easily be dubbed How Sexual Harassment Came to the North Pole.

With a humorous and incisive script which uses the fantastical world of Santa's workshop to examine the myths and truths of sexual harassment in our own, this production is like an office gag gift from the adult bookstore - certainly not what you expected but surprisingly life-like and thought-provoking.

It is the script's acid wit and raw observations, which make it such a compelling piece. While describing the alcoholic Mrs. Claus' futile attempts at flirting with all the young bucks at the office Christmas party, the promiscuous, unapologetic and alleged rape victim Vixen queries, "Why is it a women is only a slut if she meets with some degree of success?" The choice and intimacy of the performance venues (several local Chapel Hill bars) never hindered and often helped in establishing a connectedness between audience and character. In addition, the script's convention of revealing the scandal through a series of monologues engages us to piece together an ever unfolding plot, the truths of which are challenged each time we shift and view the story through the lens of a different character.

In the end, the audience is left to decide what is truth and what is fabrication. This is because Jeri Lynn Shulke, making her Open Door directing debut, astutely presents each character honestly and lets the vast differences in perspective paint the contrasting stereotypes between characters. Rather than going only for laughs with broad caricatures, the production steers away from this direction and as a result, even the most radical of viewpoints and characterizations seem valid and sympathetic.

Overall, this ensemble cast gave even and honest performances. Even the show's broadest characterization, which came from Denis Riva as the only openly gay reindeer, Cupid, had moments of true vulnerability. Company players Ben Beecher (Dasher) and Mike Rhyne (Hollywood) may have better used in a flip-flop of their roles, particularly since Beecher's one-dimensional, albeit intense, performance of the universally admired Dasher began the show on its weakest note. The show's highlights were the portrayals of the show's most complex and least sympathetic characters. Kevin Poole's conservative Comet was chilling in his conviction and Rick Lonon heartbreaking in his confusion as Rudolph's father, Donner. Hauntingly, the believability of these characters, especially the understated and non-commercial sexuality of Katji Hill as the much-discussed Vixen, left us identifying the continuum of people in our lives who look and sound like these reindeer.

The choice of piece and its welcome contrast to the normal holiday fare is the strong point of this production which succeeds in being funny while blurring the ethical line between judging a story and judging our society. If you are looking for a holiday show that presents you with a good dose of cheer in a neatly wrapped moral, The Eight is definitely not the show for you. But if you are interested in seeing apiece that presents a healthy dose of truth and asks you to question your beliefs, this production certainly has that gift to give. s

Open Door Theatre presents The Eight: Reindeer Monologues Friday-Saturday, Dec. 15-16, 9 p.m., at Artists Escape, Bank of America Building, 137 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill. $5 suggested donation. Not recommended for children under 16. No reservations taken. www.theopendoor.net or www.jeffgoode.com/pg8rm.htm.