Arrive Magazine - November-December, 2006

DETOUR
Humbug Heaven
Not in the holiday spirit?
Catch these productions—
without a lighted tree in sight
BY ELIZABETH JOHNSON

This time of year, finding a show without a Rockette, nutcracker or ghost of Christmas past, present or future can be a challenge. So, for those who’d prefer to stay out of the spirit of season, here are some alternatives.

CATCH THIS BUZZ

If the stress of the season has you feeling down, lift your spirits with a triple espresso, er, make that Triple Espresso, the vaudeville-style comedy playing at the Capitol Repertory Theater in Albany, N. Y. The show follows three men—a musician, a magician and an entertainer, all of them comedians—from their rise to fame to their infamous fall from grace on a national TV show. (Spoiler alert: They perform a striptease on The Mike Douglas Show.) The play began its run in a suburban church in the Midwest and is so popular it’s been running in Minneapolis since 1996, selling more than $30 million in tickets. It’s also been performed in L. A., Mi lwaukee and Des Moines, where it ran for 68 weeks. Capitol Repertory Theater, 111 N. Pearl St., Albany, N. Y. Box Office: 518-445-SHOW (7469). capitalrep.org. Dec. 8-31. Tickets: $34-$42.

CRACKING UP

You don’t have to look far to find a production of The Nutcracker. But leave it to a place called The Theater Offensive to present David Parker and the Bang Group’s spoof on it. Nut/Cracked, choreographed by Parker, is a tricked-up, R-rated, modern take

so (from left) Michael ob Stromberg.

Group present Nut/ ly Tschiffely, Amber

on renditions of the Tchaikovsky score by Duke Ellington, Fred Waring and Glenn Miller. Consider this: During the Chinese dance number, Parker slurps a noodle out of a red takeout container. The New York Times called it “side-splittingly funny.” And yes—there’s a fairy. The Theater Offensive, Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theater, 527 Tremont St., Boston, Mass. 617-933-8600. Nov. 3-11. Tickets: $39.

BEHIND THE CURTAIN

Talk about a play within a play. The inner workings of the theater form the plot of Noises Off, a classic American comedy being performed in the Kreeger Theater at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Follow the troupe in three acts—final dress rehearsal, matinee performance and evening performance of their touring show Nothing On—as they engage each other in love triangles, angle at each other in fistfights and forget props—or just throw them.