The Holiday channel christmas movie wonderthon

6/10

‘Tis the season for playhouses around the area to drape the stage in tinsel, lights, and feel-good holiday fare. This year, the Acrosstown Repertory Theatre presents The Holiday Channel Christmas Movie Wonderthon, a spoof of the cheesiest and most absurd tropes of the Hallmark Christmas romantic comedies. The "plot" focuses on getting through as many romantic storylines as possible with the help of two guiding narrators, a sassy best friend, a slew of other characters, and the suspension of disbelief.

The actors largely do well with the words they are given, with each of the six couples doing what they can to convey sadness, hope, sadness again, and finally love with the small amount of time devoted to their particular story. Each couple needs a certain amount of chemistry right out of the gate to put the "rom" into rom-com and get audience buy-in. Some couples struggle with this, making their stories drag and slowing down the snappiness of the dialogue, which in turn makes the show run longer than it should. However, one couple stands out with the perfect combination of absurd story and over-the-top execution. Throughout the show, Carol, a hardened war reporter, and Jackson, a small town single parent of two golden retrievers (played by Shelly Flanagan and Chris Floyd respectively), revitalize the audience with their antics and fill the theater with laughter, whistles, and cheers. Mr. Floyd spends much of the first act in a hospital gown and wheelchair and yet brings the character to life with unexpected and impressive physicality. As the story progresses, Carol becomes increasingly unhinged in pursuit of love. Ms. Flanagan creates a character that starts out quirky, yet respectable, and slowly devolves into something akin to Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction.

Just as she did in last season's The Game's Afoot, Jan Cohen (playing Narrator 1) delights. The juxtaposition of her wholesome, almost teacher-like, demeanor with the absurdity of what she says and does on stage lands with the audience every time. Ms. Cohen is tasked with playing miscellaneous characters throughout the show and her dedication is apparent as each character has its own charm and personality despite its fleeting time in front of the audience.

Beyond the actors, one of the strengths of the Acrosstown Repertory Theatre is the dynamic seating and creative set design necessitated by the small space. Part of the usual buildup walking into the ART is the anticipation of what creative use of space awaits this time. Unfortunately, audiences may be disappointed to see the same configuration, and set for the most part, that they saw in On Clover Road and Evil Dead before it, this time with a fresh coat of paint and some Christmas decorations. While the set does a good job of creating that small town Christmas feel and provides adequate space for the large cast, it is still a minor missed opportunity to engage the audience with something new and exciting.

Speaking of accommodating such a large cast, it is expected that some of the blocking will be awkward with trying to find room for so many actors in such a small space. However, the awkward blocking in this show is not limited to those scenes in which a large number of actors share the space. Instead, it is the cumbersome blocking in scenes with three to four people that creates issues. At times, the few actors on stage feel clustered together in a confined space with limited movement to play to the rest of the audience. This makes it difficult to see faces and emotion and is a disservice to the actors as it sometimes comes across that the movement lacks intention or that the actors are unsure of what they are supposed to be doing. This particular issue does not apply to every scene or actor, but it does happen often enough to be noticeable.

Overall, this show succeeds at what it sets out to do: create a humorous and Christmas-y take on a ridiculous genre of movies. Laughter, cheers, and Christmas romance fills the Acrosstown Repertory Theatre through December 21st and Wonderthon provides a pleasantly fun way to kick off the festivities. The show is sold out, but there is a waitlist at acrosstown.org.