Curtain Calls: Dec. 4-10

Checking in on this week's offerings on local stages, Decider finds the Twin Cities theater scene at a strange in-between moment: All the big-buck Christmas shows are open, and have been for a few weeks—but the best small, idiosyncratic productions (from the likes of Open Eye Figure Theater and Ballet Of The Dolls) are still a week away. Here are a few things to tide you over.

Kevin Kling

Kevin Kling’s fantastic one-man show, From The Charred Underbelly Of The Yule Log, plays at the Guthrie Theater for one night on Monday, Dec. 8. Kling is one of Minnesota’s favorite sons—an actor, humorist, and playwright popularized by a few stints on National Public Radio where he stretched his Ohs and otherwise betrayed his state of origin. This prepackaged show premiered nearly 10 years ago, but it’s just as wry, hearty, and hilarious as ever. Kling appears on the stage dressed in flannel pajamas and a clashing robe. Then he sinks into an easy chair and proceeds to recall the details of a Christmas from his youth, from the long drive to grandmother’s house he suffered in the back of his parents’ station wagon to observations on the holiday from the unique perspective of somebody with a disability. (Kling was injured in a motorcycle accident in 2001.)

Here’s another thing: Local humorist Joseph Scrimshaw opens his popular holiday show, Fat Man Crying, at the Theater Garage. This funny two-act hauls out a familiar postmodern character—a disgruntled, Scotch-drinking Santa who must, sadly, go on a quest to recover his Christmas spirit. But Scrimshaw pulls it off with grace, excellent writing chops, and not a whiff of cynicism.

For throwbacks who fear they’ve been born to the wrong era: John Trones and his 8ball Theatre open 1940s Radio Hour over at Hennepin Stages Thursday night. The imaginary setting for this variety show broadcast is the Hotel Astor’s Algonquin Room, a famous period-appropriate destination where luminaries like Robert Benchley, George S. Kaufmann, New Yorker editor Harold Ross, and Dorothy Parker shared lunch and swapped witticisms. But the show doesn’t concern these famous folks. Rather, it’s about a company of performers who are immersed with producing a radio show—namely, “The Mutual Manhattan Variety Cavalcade," a live, holiday-themed broadcast on Dec. 21, 1942. Cue the jazzy standards, like “Blues In The Night,” “That Old Black Magic,” and “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.” 

Over at the Bryant-Lake Bowl, a theatergoer finds an assortment of holiday-themed treats already in progress: Martini & Olive offer Silent Night Fever, a revue in which holiday standards get the disco treatment. Theatre Limina has its recurring production of The Santaland Diaries—based on the gut-gusting, career-launching essay by David Sedaris. A staple of NPR, it’s a true account of the year Sedaris worked as an elf at Macy’s Santaland.

As would be expected, the History Theatre’s original, in-progress production of A Servants’ Christmas has an interesting past: The company staged it as a straight play in 1980, but added music by Minnesota composer Drew Jansen in 2003. The delightful songs make the otherwise musty story about a group of servants celebrating the holidays on 1890s Summit Avenue worthwhile.