Christmas show is for adults only
BY JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer
Thursday, December 13, 2012
12/13/12 at 6:27 AM
Sometimes, amid all the sugar and sweetness and light and good will that the holidays engender, a little dark and twisted might come as a welcome tonic.
Which is why Theatre Pops is presenting "The Eight: Reindeer Monologues," Jeff Goode's extremely dark adult comedy that gives Santa's gravity-defying livestock the opportunity to tell the truth about what goes on at the North Pole.
"It's a fair statement to say that my views of the holiday season might be a little askew," said Randall Whalen, the company's director. "And I think this show does fill a void, by providing a very different option to the traditional shows that are done this time of year."
"The Eight" is a series of statements by the various reindeer who have been ferrying Santa Claus around the world for untold years, as they describe what they know about a scandal at the North Pole. The stories told, the secrets revealed and the language used make it not a show for the young.
Theatre Pops first staged this show last December, and the response was such that the company decided to restage the work.
The majority of the cast from last year's show also is returning, with one exception.
"I had been talking with Melanie Fry about maybe doing some shows with us at a later date," Whalen said. "When this show came up, I gave her a call about taking part."
Fry has been a part of the Tulsa theater scene since the 1970s. She created the character of Joyce Martell for American Theatre Company's satirical revues and appeared in a number of the company's productions of plays by Ted Swindley, including "Honky Tonk Angels" and "Come Into My Parlor." Most recently, Fry appeared in Tulsa Project Theatre's "Guess Who's Coming to Seder?"
But taking on the persona of Donner, the mother of Rudolph - the reindeer at the center of the scandal - is a whole new experience for Fry.
"I've done shows where I've had long monologues, but this is the first time I've ever been really out there by myself," Fry said. "When Randy called me, I said I'd do it without ever seeing the script. I just knew I wanted to get back into that discipline of crafting a character.
"So, for me, it's been a great experience because it's really helping me grow as a performer," she said. "And it's really helped rekindle that passion for the theater again."
In addition to Fry, "The Eight: Reindeer Monologues" features Dave Garcia as Dasher, Freddie Tate as Cupid, Charles Kevin Smith as Hollywood (better known as Prancer), Paula Scheider as Blitzen, Matt Steiert as Comet, Natalie Oglesby Skalla as Dancer and Valerie Stefan as Vixen.
‘THE EIGHT: REINDEER MONOLOGUES’
presented by Theatre Pops
When: 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday
and Dec. 20-22; 2 p.m. Sunday
and Dec. 23
Where: Doenges Theatre, Tulsa
PAC, 110 E. Second St.
Tickets: $10-$15. 918-596-7111,
tulsaworld.com/mytix.
Original Print Headline: Holiday show for adults
James D. Watts Jr. 918-581-8478
james.watts@tulsaworld.com
