Wisconsin State Journal
Saturday, December 8, 2001

Reindeers' True Confessions Are Endearing

Wisconsin State Journal :: DAYBREAK :: C6

Saturday, December 8, 2001
Nadine Goff For the State Journal

There's a good reason why Santa Claus is the villain in "THE EIGHT:Reindeer Monologues," Jeff Goode's dark comedy about scandal at the NorthPole. It's not because he's "dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot."And it's not because the "right jolly old elf" is in no position to sue for slander.

No, Santa is the villain because he's the sort of beloved, well-respected man almost everyone believes is incapable of sexual misconduct: the kind of guy who's difficult to accuse and even tougher to convict. A saga of sexual harassment, told from the point of view of the elite reindeer who pull Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve, "THE EIGHT" is full of wickedly funny assaults on both venerable Christmas traditions and some aspiring wannabes.

StageQ's production of "THE EIGHT," now playing at the Bartell Theatre, is the fourth production I've seen since the play debuted in 1994. For me, the 80-minute play has lost a bit of its edginess and shock value, but it remains surprisingly entertaining.

The eight reindeer are an eclectic mix of drunks and punks, egotists and airheads, innocents and sophisticates, activists and anarchists. They're gay and gloomy, straight and bent. Each has about 10 minutes to tell his or her story and render his or her version of what really happened at the North Pole.

Dasher (John Krem) wears a smoking jacket and keeps a flask in his pocket. Cupid (Jeffrey Brunnbauer) is giddy and gay. Hollywood (Beth Shippert) is a vainglorious actor formerly known as Prancer. Blitzen (Shoshanna Hill) is a profusely pierced militant feminist.

Comet (Donn Moen) is a coke-sniffing anarchist who is sometimes transmogrified into a Bible-thumping preacher. Dancer (Carrie Aikman) is a Jewish reindeer who's not always as clueless as she seems. Donner (KentWalker) is a poor, downtrodden soul who betrayed his son for a slot on the elite team. Vixen (Stephanie Monday) is the brassy babe who says Santa raped her.

Under the deft and imaginative direction of Michael Bruno, each characteris believable and memorable. In many instances, the characterizations are quite different from those I've seen in other productions, but this helps to keep the play fresh. Bruno has also done a fine job of tweaking the monologues a bit, including inserting Harry Potter and deleting a reference to the World Trade Center.

Instead of merely having the reindeer sit around and wait for their time in the spotlight, Bruno has added some brief, amusing bits of interaction. Jessica Myrbo's lighting design and the clever use of some snippets of popular music also add to the fun.

"THE EIGHT" is not for kids, homophobes or those who recoil when four-letter words are hurled in their direction. Others, however, are likelyto find StageQ's production engaging, entertaining and, perhaps, a bit provocative.

"THE EIGHT: The Reindeer Monologues" will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturdays through Dec. 22 in the Evjue Theatre of the Bartell Theatre, 113 E. Mifflin St. Tickets are $12. Call 204-0306.