Do you own an ugly holiday sweater or at least one that has been judged as barely wearable in public? If so, you are clad appropriately for Playhouse on Park’s northeast coast premiere of the current clever dancing and singing offering “The Ugly X-mas Sweater Musical.” Until Sunday, December 22, the singing and dancing will continue at the corporate office of the American Regalia Uniforms Company. Michelle Jennings’s head of Human Resources Cheryl is upset, anxious, disturbed, angry, frustrated, out-of-control and panicked that her beloved company may close its doors forever.
Knitted tightly together by Dan Knechtges and Megan Larche Dominick, based on an idea by Dan Knechtges, this is a wildly different take on the holidays. Cheryl is in trouble and clearly at the wrong time of year: Christmas. She is genuinely alarmed that all her trusty employees will lose their jobs and she won’t be able to save them from a dreaded enemy in the personage of Laura Yen Solito's Olga, a German villain who holds all their fates in her greedy hands.
To add to the company’s trauma its current CEO has absconded to Tahiti with all the funds and double crossed his crew, Jef Canter’s Charlie, Miles Messier’s Ben, Marcel Werder’s Doug/Niles and Cheron Whittley’s Misty/Kelli. He blames his divorce for all his problems. How will Cheryl save the day or can she? What new idea for a uniform can they create when Olga is snapping her whip of authority? With sheer creativity and imagination magically materialize the solution?
The team needs a crew of elves faster than you can say “candy cane creations” three times over, plus a troupe of volunteers from the audience to hop on board to model their Christmas clothing innovations, some ugly holiday sweaters if you will. With the trio of rules of construction, fitting and runway, and classic ideas like gingerbread, figgy pudding, heavenly bodies like angels, shake-shake-shake your snowglobes, evergreen trees and stocking stuffers, with the help of the audience a solution might be magically discovered. Hallelujah!
For tickets ($45-55, discount for senior, military, students), call Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road, West Hartford at 860-523-5900, ext. 10 or online at www.playhouseonpark.org. Performances are Tuesday at 2 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m followed by a talkback. The lobby has many ugly sweaters on display as well as a cabinet cubbyhole to purchase new innovative creations to take home.
Get into the Christmas spirit by donning a colorful version of woolen, tinsel, reindeer, candy cane, or ornamental finery to proclaim your holiday happiness. And if you are invited to an ugly Christmas sweater contest, you just might win a prize.
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