Another week, another Christmas show opening in Charleston. This time it’s Theatre 99’s new one-man show The Christmas Will Be Televised.
Andy (Andy Livengood, graduate of the Theatre 99 training program and perpetual watcher of holiday TV) is at his parent’s house for the annual Christmas party, and it’s as lame as usual. No drinks, no debauchery, just dad reading the birth of Christ from the good book. However, there’s a TV, and the cavalcade of holiday movies that dominate the airwaves each and every December. The show, written by Livengood with director and Have Nots cofounder Greg Tavares, pokes good-natured fun at all the season’s offerings.
The show is lighthearted in its spoofing. The Grinch is given a rap remix of Vanilla Ice’s classic jam. A Christmas Carol is given a Star Wars toy makeover. And Andy lip-synchs a melody of holiday jams that is pretty incredible. But some of his more intimate moments, dealing with the family and friends who make up the party, lack any impact. For me, it took a while to warm up to Andy himself, and the framework of the family story is a poor cover for what are essentially a few Christmas themed one-man sketches.
The show is short (barely an hour long) but it’s fun and serves as a nice warm up. If nothing else, it’ll remind you of all those songs and movies you’ve been meaning to watch this December.
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