Northern Lights - November 29, 2005


Back by popular demand - irreverent, deviant, bawdy, in your face, the scandalous eight!


by Anne-Margret Bellavoine, Northern Lights

November 29, 2005

Nice has little place in this scandalously irreverent romp on the top eight antlered bucks and does which make up the team for their once a year run.

Jeff Goode's wickedly funny play debunks Santa Claus myths with pettifogging as each of the eight gives their take on the scabrous story in their monologues. Josh Costello returns as director.

Dasher (Casey Long) is the ur-redneck, ranting at Rudolph's usurping him on one - and one only - night, stealing his show. As for the red clad 'fat boy,' let's not even go there!

Cupid (Jason Sechrest) is gregariously over-the-top and openly 'out of the closet.' His risqué monologue exposes the darkest secrets of the Claus household, from the harassment by the Mrs., to her husband's flagrant exploitation of children.

Hollywood, aka Prancer, (Pete Caslavka) brings his own issues, including the blatant slight that no animal, not even Bambi, has ever won an Oscar.

Blitzen (Alex Bueno) is an angry feminist who thinks kids stop believing into the myth because of the repressed memories of an evil old man who has the uncanny, disturbing power to know when they are sleeping, even worming himself into their very homes as they lay in bed awaiting gifts.

Comet (Carter Mason), however, worships good old Saint Nick who rescued him from a shelter for troubled deer, turning his life around.

Dancer (Sarah Moreau) is a vapid blonde who hung up her ballet slippers, preferring to bake cookies, but bemoaning the working conditions of her 24 hour a year job. She feels ambivalent about the rumors in the workshop.

Donner (Richard Comeau), Rudolph's father, is wracked with guilt over selling his handicapped son in exchange for material comfort.

Finally, Vixen (Heather Howe) spins her own tale. Did Santa take advantage of her - or did she seduce him?

Lies and truths emerge through the eight raunchily explicit monologues, great adult entertainment to combat insipid sugarplum fairy seasonal indigestion.