Christmas at 2Co’s
2Co’s Cabaret
Short North
Columbus, Ohio
* * * * *

Holiday Hoopla XIII
Shadowbox Cabaret
Easton Towne Center
Columbus, Ohio
* * * * *

by Rick Brown

Originally I was going to write separate reviews of these two shows. After seeing them both in a short time span I realized they’re so similar that it might seem redundant. Not that that’s bad. After all, the theme is Christmas and no matter how you look at it there’s the Jesus story and the Santa story. Neither performance mentions Kwanzaa, Ramadan, or Hanukah. Unless you count the song “Oy To the World” performed at Shadowbox. As good as the tune was the toast given shortly afterward…during the superb “A Cindy and Lavern Christmas” (Mary Randle and Julie Klein)…re-established the show’s main focus…joking about Christmas. “Let’s not forget Jesus is the reason for the season!” And looking to the sky these two trailer park trash mothers lift their beers and exclaim, “J.C. This one’s for you!” Amen…burp!

After attending all of the productions given by these two fine cabarets the past two years, I think some observations might be more relevant than a typical review. Shadowbox and 2Co’s both use the same structure of monologues, skits, or one act plays sandwiched between some remarkable music by house bands BillWho? (Shadowbox) and Downtown DFN (2Co’s). The real differences are logistical, SBox being at a mall and 2Co’s in the city. Going to Easton Towne Center involves all that is mall culture…waiting for a parking space…dodging cars as a pedestrian once parked…and shouldering your way past bored “I’m so frikkin’ cool I could kiss myself” bored looking teenagers. At 2Co’s there’s a tiny parking lot behind the building, where you will be shown where to park, most likely by the band’s drummer. Shadowbox Cabaret is housed in a corner of the mall. It’s a large space…flashy with television screens. 2Co’s is much smaller … understated … more like a 60’s coffee house than a theater. Beyond this both experiences share more in common than not. Yet people I’ve encountered in the audiences have usually expressed their loyalty to one cabaret or the other. “I went to 2Co’s once and didn’t like it as well. I don’t enjoy country music” was how a tablemate put it this night. Understandably, I was surprised the second time I attended Shadowbox and realized that no…not every show…is about sex. I most certainly have my favorite. And those who have read my reviews can probably guess which it is. I enjoy both really. But for different reasons…even though the similarities far outnumber their differences.

Beginning both shows is a thought-provoking piece. “Holiday Hoopla” has a fine reading of Robbie Nance’s “Best Damn Santa Around” by David Gigliotti. The story of a recently fired store Santa, Gigliotti endearingly explains between swigs of beer the nuances of “reading the parents” while asking their children what they want for Christmas. His sensitivity becomes the reason for his dismissal. And while Joseph Lorenzo’s reprised Three Grunts Lost (by Michael Rodriguez) is more intense in subject matter, both actors start their respective shows off with class and poignancy. Mr. Lorenzo’s riveting tale of three G.I.s in Vietnam wandering into a metaphoric nativity scene is nothing short of inspirational.

Both productions celebrate the unrelenting exuberance of children at Christmastime. At 2Co’s, Chris Chambers’ impish take on Paul Feig’s Army Issue Elf certainly rekindles memories of school plays and how one’s parent's indirect involvement (in this case insisting an elf outfit could be scrounged up at dad’s army-navy store) can be universally humiliating, yet a lesson in what’s really important in life. Amy Lay’s wonderful 7 year old who lectures us about the impossibility of Santa Claus in Hoopla’s “Santa Fraud" (by Robbie Nance) is also a delightful…albeit painful reminder of one’s epiphany concerning the uh…lie…that is Mr. Claus. And Shadowbox’s excellent ability to portray an elementary school play is well represented in “Hoopla XII” by their original “Kids-mas Carol”. Mary Randle shines as teacher Mrs. Hosenfeffer doing her best to keep her class’s play from blowing up into chaos as Julie Klein hilariously portrays lead character Ebeneba (Scrooge) with cherubic…yet irreverent…aplomb.

Opposing sides of the same coin are Tom Cardinal’s effeminate rendering of Hollywood (Jeff Goode) at 2Co’s, and Shadowbox’s “Dasher”, (also Goode) played with mucho macho by Jimmy Mak in drill sergeant fashion. As reindeer Prancer, Cardinal hysterically chronicles his tenuous relationship with red nosed…and more famous…Rudolph. Ditto for Mr. Mak as testosterone blinded Dasher with both actors bringing down their respective houses.