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Text of
article from the Sun-Times Media Group
November 29, 2012
"‘Twist’ brings Elgin holiday laughs"
By Annie Alleman
If
you’ve seen one too many feel-good Christmas plays or movies this
season and need a palate cleanser, the Vex Theatre Company offers up a
holiday alternative.
The Elgin-based theater company presents
its all-new holiday show, “Twist-a-Carol III: All About Eves.”
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7 and 8 and 3 p.m. Dec. 9 at the
Elgin Art Showcase in Elgin.As the title suggests, it’s the third time
the group has presented an evening of short, original sketches about
the holidays.
“For the last two years, including this year, all
the plays ‘Twist-a-Carol’ are original. For people who have seen it
before, definitely come back and see it again because it will be a
totally new show,” said director Cathleen Ann.
“We’re sticking
to the formula of many different plays that look at holidays and how
they have the power to frustrate us. We hope to make people laugh about
their holiday frustrations and look at things from a new perspective,
and also gently remind people of all the good things about the holidays
that we sometimes lose sight of. So there’s a positive message
underneath our frustrations with the holidays.”
The centerpiece
of this year’s show is “All About Eves,” a play based on the classic
movie. Other original works include: “Merry Ex-Mas,” “Silver and Gold,”
“Holiday Leftovers,” “Triple Xmas” and “Outlet.”
“All About
Eves” is about two rivals: the personification of Christmas Eve and the
personification of New Year’s Eve, and they are staging a war to see
who the most popular holiday is, she said.
The women are competing among party guests and for the love of the public over who is the most popular holiday.
“It will feature appearances from many different holidays that occur throughout the year,” she said. “It will be very funny.”
Despite some of the titillating titles, the show is PG-13, she said. There’s no swearing and no nudity.
“It’s not aimed at little kids. They will get bored and it will go over their heads,” she said.
These
holiday productions stemmed as a reaction to the commercialism and the
trappings of the holidays, she said. It’s a way to acknowledge and
celebrate the holidays with a fresh perspective, she said.
“That’s
why we ended up writing so much of the show ourselves because there are
very few adult shows out there for the holidays,” she said. “In order
for us to do a holiday show they way we wanted to, we had to write it
ourselves. It’s been well-received. It’s definitely an alternative to
the usual holiday fare.”
The light plays keep the audiences interested, and there is a live piano player as well.
“I
think people should come see ‘Twist-a-Carol’ if they are worn down by
the stress of the holidays,” she said. “People should come see the show
to get their holiday spirit renewed.”
