“I’m going to Connecticut and I’m taking Vixen!”
Those words, uttered by Santa’s spurned spouse, provide the flimsy pretext for the flimsily attired burlesque revue “Mama D’s Christmas Stocking” at Playhouse on Park in West Hartford.
The lovable Mrs. Claus is encouraged to forget her old, white-bearded lech, consult her bucket list and take care of her own desires.
She is guided on this quest by Mistress of Ceremonies Colleen Welsh — though Welsh consistently mispronounces the word “bucket.”
Compared to last year’s “Stocking,” this one doesn’t take shots at religion. There’s not even an “Elf on the Shelf” this time around. The closest the show gets to religion is the localized salutation “Merry Christmas, oh and Happy Hanukkah — this is West Hartford.”
The routines range from show-tune solos to stand-up comedy (“I see London, I see France, I literally see everyone’s underpants”) to erotic ensemble dances.
The large cast of dancer/singers seems to change costumes over a dozen times, but there’s probably not a yard of fabric among all those garments.
Private parts stay covered in lingerie throughout the performance, which on opening night lasted more than two and half hours. (There’s a lot of tap dancing.)
The five-piece old-school club-jazz-style backing band is in constant demand, even playing along when pre-recorded music is required.
Mama D herself — Playhouse on Park co-founder Darlene Zoller, who conceived and choreographs this seasonal series — lip synchs and cracks a whip during a full-cast dance rendition of the decade-old Britney Spears hit “Circus.”
Where “Mama D’s Christmas Stocking: Where’s Santa?” really does indulge in sacrilege is in how it skewers Broadway icon Liza Minnelli, in a devastating turn by Colleen Welsh. In what I’d call the funniest moment of the night, Liza declares that she would never sing a song associated with her mother Judy Garland, then immediately starts belting “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” before she’s even finished the sentence.
There’s something for just about everybody, as long as “everybody” refers to consenting adults.
Is the show dirty? Sure, but I’m the kind of person who’s more offended by its disco medley (“Enough Is Enough,” seriously) than by any of its coarse language. The jokes are actually pretty coy, like “What is the most sensitive place on a man’s body? His ego.” Or “I’m feeling just a little bit pregnant due to that saxophone solo.”
You might wonder how an irreverent, scatalogical, sex-crazed scantily clad revue goes over this year in particular, with so many sexual abuse stories in the news.
I ran into Zoller in the Playhouse on Park lobby before the sold-out Friday performance, as she was hawking special-edition “Mama D” 2018 calendars. She said the cast (many of whom have appeared in previous “Mama D” shows, which happen in summertime as well as winter) look forward to gathering for the shows, finding the experience “freeing.”
Indeed, liberation and empowerment are the clear themes of this endeavor. Sure, some of the songs reek of dependence and low self-esteem, but for every “Man Wanted” there’s a sultry “Got a Lot of Living To Do” (sung by a strong woman, rather than the sleazy rock star of “Bye Bye Birdie”) or a divine drag romp through “You Make Me Feel Like (A Natural Woman).”
“Mama D’s Christmas Stocking: Where’s Santa?” is immersive and inviting. A raffle is even held to allow an audience member to dance with the cast onstage, because apparently so many theatergoers have been clamoring to do that.
“Mama D’s” combines the decadence of the legendary pre-war Berlin Cabaret shows with 21st century escapist instincts. I want to analyze and deconstruct further but, heck, it’s the holiday season. Be merry.
Mama D’s Christmas Stocking: Where’s Santa? seeks ho-ho-hos through Dec. 31 at Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road, West Hartford. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with an added performance at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 28 and a special New Year’s Eve show lasting from 8 p.m. to midnight on Dec. 31 (with hors d’oeuvres and cocktails from 8 to 9:30 p.m., show at 9:30 p.m., a champagne cocktail at midnight and dancing until 1 a.m.). Tickets are $25; the New Year’s Eve event is $60. 860-523-5900, playhouseonpark.org.
