Surviving the pandemic X: it's beginning to look not like Christmas

29 Nov 2020 - photos courtesy of publicist

While Christmas is not my favourite holiday season - it's no Halloween or even Valentine's Day - there are traditions that I love. A Christmas Carol at the Campbell House and Peter Pan at Soulpepper are just two that come to mind, but there is always a surprise to be found, a bit of heartfelt emotion in the plastic heart of a commercialized holiday. The pandemic seemed to have crushed the theatre, and the Christmas spirit, but a few valiant souls have come to the rescue, bringing Christmas cheer to our assorted viewing devices and televisions while we're stuck at home. Only one question remains: can the small screen contain the over-size talents of Chris Sujiuchi, Taylor Mac, Plumbum and Dan Levy? 

"Did you really think that I was going to let a global pandemic stop me from keeping the yuletide gay?" asks Chris Tsujiuchi. Of course not. Tsujiuchi's A Very Chris-terical Christmas Cabaret is a tradition of the grandest magnitude. All year, every year except this dismal one with theatres and cabaret spaces closed, Tsujiuchi lends his formidable talents to a calvacade of productions. He's been integral to the success of Porchside Songs, The Rocky Horror Show, Unravelled, Parade, Box 4901 and Onegin to name a few, but come the holiday season, he strides centre stage for his annual cabaret. Tsujiuchi and his guests wear ugly sweaters, "defile beloved carols" and, yes, keep the Yuletide gay. 

A Very Chris-terical Christmas Cabaret has been a hit at Buddies for nine years, then the much larger Jane Mallett Theatre, before returning triumphantly to Buddies in 2019.This being 2020 and the world as we know it being in lockdown, A Very Chris-terical Christmas Cabaret is moving online. While Tsujiuchi is still the mastermind he has more than able assistance from a stunning array of guest stars including Adam Proulx (Spencer Stays Inside, Avenue Q), Ben Foran, Colin Asuncion (Porchside Songs, Uncovered, Box 4901), Eric Haynes, Kevin Wong (Porchside Songs), Leah Canali, Natasha Buckeridge and Robin Claxton. Tickets are good for multiple viewings beginning Thursday, December 10, and have variable tiers involving various perks and bonus Christmas gifts. christsujiuchi.com  

Buddies is not sitting out the holiday season though the stages will be dark. They have teamed up with TO Live to co-present with Pomegranate Arts a digital production of Taylor Mac's Holiday Sauce . . . Pandemic! Mac is a global superstar who has more awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship officially commemorating that judy is a genius (note: Mac uses "judy" not as a name but as a gender pronoun). Mac considers himself a disciple of the late great and fabulous Charles Ludlam, and judy's work has ignited theatres on Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off Broadway around the world, many of which are also co-presenting this "virtual vaudeville" version of Mac's beloved holiday salute to chosen family. This year's guests, all chosen family of the finest kind, include Thornetta Davis, Stephanie Christi’an, Tigger! Ferguson, Dusty Childers and Sister Rosemary Chicken.

There is a paragraph of the press release that deserves quoting in full: "Mac dedicates Holiday Sauce to Mother Flawless Sabrina, Mac’s drag mother, who passed away three weeks before the live show made its world premiere at Town Hall NYC in December 2017. As a tribute to her, each institution presenting Holiday Sauce...Pandemic! is honouring a local elder who has made a significant contribution to nurturing the queer community in their city. TO Live and Buddies in Bad Times Theatre have selected leZlie lee kam, a fierce, differently-abled queer dyke community activist, storyteller, and 2SLGBTQI+ awareness consultant and workshop facilitator. Collectively, these elders make up a group Mac is referring to as The Queens; their names will be mentioned in the show, featured on the Holiday Sauce website, and amplified on social media."

Buddies has another contribution as they are presenting a livestreamed afterparty hosted by the inimitable Ryan G Hinds (Lilies, McArthur Park Suite: A Disco Ballet) who has experience both in directing virtually (Sarah/Frank) and in being generally fierce, as he proved as one of the hosts of Buddies' uber-successful Queer Pride Inside. leXlie lee kam will be joining the party so that all will have the opportunity to express their appreciation. Taylor Mac's Holiday Sauce . . . Pandemic! streams Saturday, December 12 at 7pm and on demand until Saturday, January 2. buddiesinbadtimes.com and tolive.com

Both of the above shows come with specific warnings about content and that they are intended for "mature audiences." For a more family friendly show, Ross Petty's annual pantomime is moving online with Home for the Holidays, a "twisterized sequel" to 2018's hit The Wizard of Oz: A Toto-ly Twistered Family Musical. I've had the good fortune to attend many pantomimes over many holiday seasons (Lil' Red Robin Hood, A Christmas Carol, Peter Pan in Wonderland, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Snow White, The Wizard of Oz, Beauty and the Beast) and while billed as family fare, the jokes always push the boundaries of what is too risqué for rugrats. Especially the delightful and perpetually horny dragster Plumbum who is venturing online for the first time (aside from Tinder, Ok Cupid and Plenty of Fish).

While the spontaneity of adlibs from stalwart Eddie Glen cracking up the cast will be sorely missed, I suspect that the clever writing the pantomimes have become known for will compensate. And be sure to utilize speakers more powerful than a laptop as AJ Bridel (Kinky Boots), Sara-Jeanne Hosie (Falsettos) and Camille-Eanga Selenge are all returning. And all have extraordinary voices that have ripped the roof off of many a theatre and could demolish earbuds. They are joined by Alex Wierzbicki and the 11-year-old Roberta Battaglia who is apparently famous for a former television appearance on America's Got Talent. Producer and musical theatre icon Ross Petty narrates. At the very least the hilarious commercials, often the best part of the show, will be fully integrated instead of being blatant pitches. Home for the Holidays streams on Saturday, December 19 and Sunday, December 20. rosspetty.com 

Last, and tragically least, is Happiest Season, the first Christmas rom-com in the Hallmark style to feature LGBTQ protagonists instead of sidekicks or comic relief. While pure clichéd fluff it does validate my nascent thesis that Hallmark Christmas movies are simply horror films wrapped in snow, excessive decorations and glitter. The first two-thirds of Happiest Season is a remake of Get Out but with lesbians as the victims. There is even a cribbed reference to the twins from The Shining. Of course all descends into a schmaltzy happy heteronormative ending and, on many levels, that is deeply satisfying if one is able to turn off one's critical faculties. 

Being a landmark production, Happiest Season was able to cast some old pros including Kristen Stewart, Victor Garber and Mary Steenburgen, all of whom could do this in their sleep and occasionally appear to be doing so. The big casting coup is Dan Levy who works valiantly to elevate his role as the gay BFF into something more. He is very funny for the most part (I wonder how much he adlibbed?) and acquits himself well in a dramatic speech about coming out that is a bid for another Emmy. Alas he still can't transcend the sexless straitjacket that gay characters are usually trapped in, even in an explicitly LGBTQ production (the lesbians do get to kiss, a lot, in a non-doing it for the male gaze manner). However it is hard to criticize something that was unimaginable even a few years ago and that will empower many LGBTQers who are struggling with closet issues. If I had seen Happiest Season as a questioning teenager, I would have sobbed with joy, so I am going to consider that an endorsement. Happiest Season is available as VOD and will stream on Amazon Prime as of Wednesday, December 9