Another Night Before Christmas
Art Station Theatre
through December 17, 2017

This musical spoof of the season by Sean Grennan and Leah Okimoto has a pretty different view of the holidaze. As it starts off we meet a social worker who is stressed to the max. Karol (Liza Jaine) is on the way home and has had enough of the syrupy tunes invading every mall, elevator and dining facility. She may not be ready to sing along, but she’s certainly ready to grab a glass or two. After all it is Christmas Eve.

As she is on the way home she sees this street person in rags. He looks like he could use a meal or something else, and she offers up her left-overs. The guy, played by Jeff LeCraw, accepts her gratuitous offering and they each get on with things.

But “things” don’t go as might be expected when this guy drops into her home, unannounced and without setting off her state-of-the-art new alarm system. Does he have a name? He says he is Santa Claus, but she isn’t buying that. She tries many times to get rid of this uninvited guest, to no avail. Even the cops think she is nutty when she calls in to have them come arrest an alleged Santa for breaking and entry.

There are a dozen numbers in the two acts, and what she finds when Act II begins is nothing like what she may have wished for, nor imagined. What kind of hard-nose is this lady? And is this nut-case really a Santa? You’d have to sit through the show and enjoy the trip from reality to insanity and back again.

David Thomas directed this clever show on a really cool stage with great props by Michael Hidalgo. It ain’t Nutcracker nor Christmas Carol, but it is a delight. Art Station is right in Stone Mountain Village, with free parking, good concessions, and comfy seats. More info at ArtStation.org