Up on the housetop, reindeer paws— out jumps good ol’ Santa Claus. And Sandy Claws! And Odin!? Why, yes, Virginia! There is— someone on your roof— or something— heck— it could even be— THUNDERSNOW! Put on your believing hat and your holiday hat and wind your way on over to the Maryland Ensemble Theatre this December season for a MET original— No, Virginia— A Grown-Up Holiday Farce. Written by company member J.D. Sivert and Directed by Tabetha White, this quirky, unique holiday experience brings a little something to the table for everyone to relate to, particularly when it comes to belief in holiday traditions.
While Christmas hasn’t completely exploded all over Scenic Designer David DiFalco’s set, there is no way anyone would think that it’s anything other than Christmas time in the play’s fictitious household. DiFalco has tastefully cluttered the set with all sorts of festive festooning; everything from sparkly poinsettia pot-mitts to the little cloth-elf advent calendar can be seen all over the space. DiFalco has incorporated the more challenging elements of the MET main stage space— the load-baring support columns— into the interior design of the house itself, giving the stage a quaint and cozy, albeit chaotic and lived in, feel. Properties Designer Shayden Jamison has added helpful holiday touches, loaded with detailed perfection— take a look at the napkins and plates (they look hand-painted!) Together, DiFalco and Jamison create a fabulous and fun playground on which playwright J.D. Sivert’s work can unfold.
In a modern day, ‘slice of life’ show— be it farce or drama— one doesn’t set particularly high hopes for impressive costumes (certainly not the way one does for period or fantasy pieces.) But Costume Designer Autumn Carter hits all the right notes when it comes to displaying an array of ‘holiday haute couture’ throughout the production. The tacky Christmas sweater seen on Tiffany rivals the ‘Caribbean-influence’ costume for ‘Sandy Claws’ which makes way for the Gandalf-inspired wizarding getup seen on the Odin-incarnation of Santa. It’s all quite a spectacle, adding to the hilarity of everything that’s happening. Not all the show’s special effects are visual; Sound Designer Ken Poisson deserves a nod for the ephemeral sounds of children at a holiday party drifting merrily through the background, but more importantly for the craftsmanship that’s gone into the ‘mysterious sleighbells’ that spirals the leading character into questioning her sanity.
Playwright J.D. Sivert takes a risk by forcing ‘farce’ into the title of his work as it comes with connotations and expectations. And while Sivert’s work is humorous, both in an absurd and quirky as well as heartwarming way, it might be a step too far to label it truly farcical. There are some doors, albeit under-utilized in the sense one might expect from a farce, and there are some moments of potential mistaken identity but at its core No, Virginia has a bit too much earnest heart and questioning discovery to be so broadly labeled. This doesn’t detract from the show, only misrepresents it slightly in the sense that one might stumble in expecting high-end slapstick and shenanigan-driven nonsense throughout the course of the evening. As stated, there are some hilarious moments and some farcical scenes, but No, J.D., it’s not a true farce.
What the play is, however, is an impressive examination of the one thing at the holiday that everyone shares whether they know it, want to or can admit to it or not. The power of belief. That’s where the brilliance of Sivert’s work starts to shine because the ‘belief’ element of the script is transmutable. Do you believe in— Santa? Religion? Yourself? Mythological gods of war who ride eight-legged horses? And everyone in the audience can relate to that overarching concept of the struggle with belief. The heart and soul of the work— much like a sturdy evergreen dragged in for holiday decorating— is in the belief motif. Sivert does a superb job of throwing the proverbial lights, tinsel, and ornaments on this centralized theme by including references to everything under the December-holiday sun— including but not limited to: Hallmark sap-taculars, iconic Christmas classics, those who wish to keep the ‘Christ’ in Christmas, thunder-snow, Yule, Odin, families together and fighting at the holidays.
Sivert has crafted realistic characters, which are further brought to life by the talented actors under the guidance of Director Tabetha White. While at times the pacing, particularly of some of those more farcical moments, does fall behind somewhat, for the most part the play moves along at an enjoyable speed and finds its footing in the wonder and struggles of these lively, believable characters. White, working with Intimacy Coordinator Julie Herber, molds miraculous moments of believable exchange— both with physical intimacy and emotional intimacy. The one that comes to mind, though it is of a simplistic and platonic nature, is the exchange between Bill and Tiffany near the end of the production; a memory and recognition is shared between them, there’s a touch of hands as an envelope is exchanged, and this simple moment speaks emotional volumes. There are dozens of moments all throughout the production just like this, providing and equally balanced foil to those more zany, over-the-top comedic moments.
With a cast of just seven, No, Virginia fits the bill of a true ensemble show. While Tiffany is meant to be the leading protagonist, everyone’s story becomes intertwined inside of hers— from daughter Wren (at this performance, the precocious and gumptious Lucy Campbell) to the random outsider swooping in to ‘save’ Christmas at the holiday party. And for the most part, everyone fills out their roles, giving Sivert’s characters a chance to flourish and thrive. The Colleen character (played by Laura Stark), mother of Tiffany and on the crusade of “keep the Christ in Christmas”, is somewhat flat in comparison to the other characters, but that’s difficult to tell if it’s because she’s written with just one note of frustration or played at one heightened level the entire time, giving the character no place to grow to, settle down from, or expand. Stark delivers some very funny moments and some touching ones too, her characterization just seems off compared to some of the others.
Lucy Campbell takes up the role of Wren, ten-year-old daughter who is super into science, cursing apparently, and still believing in church, Jesus, and Santa, finds her footing early on, balancing innocence and quirkiness in various scenes, interacting with a whole crazy cast of quirky characters. At one point the Bill character describes her as “that weird little girl” and while this seems humorous in a weirdly affectionate way, it’s surprisingly accurate, giving Campbell a lot to work with when it comes to some of her more involved scenes.
Mo (Katie Rattigan) is late to the party— literally— because she had to finish up her protest and arrives with her guitar (sadly without her cowbell) in time to represent Yule and ‘outsiders’ all in one fun-to-love character. There is a larger construct of “in-the-church” vs “outside-the-church” happening as a framework for this play and Rattigan’s character serves as a good antagonizing factor for that dynamic. Finding the balance in the humor of the character as well as the sincerity, there’s lots of fun to be had from enjoying Rattigan’s portrayal of Mo. Especially when it comes to catching “Mo-mo kissing Sandy Claws.”
Sandy (Camilo Eraso) is the harbinger of farce in this production. He’s the one that gets shuffled around, tossed through doors, and his larger-than-life personality fills out the exaggerated character nicely. Loaded with innumerable quirks, a hilariously heightened sense of being, and an overall frenetic chaos that jumps out of him like— well— thundersnow— Eraso is an excellent addition to the cast, particularly when it comes to the showdown at the end of the first act over who is the real Santa Claus. Eraso has a lovely singing voice as well, showing it off during paired up singing moments with Katie Rattigan in the second act.
When an extraordinarily tall actor bursts through the door, starts firing out rules of what his Santa expectations are to be and then flips on a dime into Nerdtastic oversharing about his true passion— Norse Mythology— you know it’s going to be a good night, particularly if that actor is Matt J. Bannister. Having a firm handle on the almost volatile and polarized nature of this crazy character, Bannister goes from grumpy Grinch to extremely politely interested nerd in no time flat. His comic timing is impeccable and is well balanced against one of the more profound moments featured at the end of the production.
Creator of her own chaos, Tiffany (Caitlyn Joy) is an enigma, wrapped in a stereotype, broiled in an archetype, and smothered with reality when it comes to existing inside the construct of this production and Caitlyn Joy nails it. At first glance, the Tiffany character could be the ‘slightly Stepford’, holiday-obsessed mom who has finally had too much eggnog and is hearing sleigh bells. Or she could be that ‘barely-hanging-on-because-my-mother’s-home-for-Christmas, I’m trying to host a party, and did I mention I’m about to be divorced?” kind of holiday character that you see in those ultra-saccharine Hallmark holiday specials. Joy unravels the layers built into the Tiffany character with ease and her physicality— the mad dash out the door every time she hears the sleigh bells— is striking. Emotionally exhausting (though a total pleasure to watch), one will catch second-hand fatigue from trying to keep up with everything Joy’s Tiffany is attempting to unpack. It makes for quite the show.
The shocking star on top of the Christmas tree in this production is the George-Bailey-wannabe-religious fanatic character of Grey (Jeremy Myers.) Sivert has written a potentially hazardous trap in this character, as being a religious fanatic, deeply steeped in a mega-church (particularly at Christmas) can easily be played up as a caricature. Some of the Grey character’s lines make you want to cringe at just how big of a religious fanatic he is, except that Jeremy Myers does such a phenomenal job of humanizing him that it’s easy to become mesmerized and spellbound. You desperately want to loathe the character’s motives and approaches, particularly when it comes to Wren and Tiffany but the human element that Myers brings to him— in a hearty, wholesome George Bailey “Merry Christmas, you old building & loan!” kind of way is nothing short of remarkable. It’s humbling to see such a stereotype of a caricature-character become so raw and so real and still have so much humor to offer the overall progression of the show.
It’s ultimately an entertaining evening, with a questionable ending that will certainly having you pondering, though at this time of year, don’t we all need a little bit to make our minds wonder, check in with our own seasonal, spiritual, and holiday beliefs? No, Virginia— much like this holiday season— will not be around forever, and if you too wish to believe, then this world premiere play is the place to do so this December.
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes with one intermission
No, Virginia— A Grown Up Holiday Farce plays through December 26, 2021 on the Main Stage of the Maryland Ensemble Theatre in the Historic FSK Hotel building— 31 W. Patrick street in downtown historic Frederick, MD. For tickets call the box office at (301) 694-4744 or purchase them online.
