Judy's Scary Little Christmas

I enter all community theater productions with great trepidation. In the past I have been treated to some interesting and fun theater experiences at small theaters in small towns (Urinetown in Simi Valley earlier this year) but I have also struggled through hours of pain at some particularly dreadful shows (a neutered version of The Fantasticks in Bainbridge Island, Washington and an Irving Berlin review at the Pewter Plough Playhouse in Cambria stand out the most in my mind). My wife loves to take chances on shows while I usually think that the reward isn't worth the risk of the show being absolutely dreadful.

So I went into Transport Theater's Saturday night performance of Judy's Scary Little Christmas expecting the worst, as I always do. Luckily and thankfully, I was surprised to see the funniest Christmas show and one of the better small theater productions that I have ever been dragged to.

The story focuses on a 1959 Christmas special hosted by Judy Garland featuring Bing Crosby, Liberace, Ethel Merman and Joan Crawford with walk-ons by Richard Nixon and Lillian Hellman. But nothing goes off as planned and not everything is as it seems. Death himself makes a cameo on the special setting off an existential crisis in the worlds of these deceased celebrities giving the show a wonderful balance of fluff and thoughtfulness.

While the second act makes the show a show, it's the raucous and hilarious musical performances in the first act that are the real reason that you should make it down to 451 Media on the North Ave for one of their final two performances next weekend. While the entire cast does a great job playing real people, a tough task given that these are some very well known celebrites, three performances particularly stood out.

Carolyn Freeman Champ as Ethel Merman tears down the house with the song Mauna Loa Hula Holiday from her album "Ethel Goes Hawaiian". And Jeff Wallach steals the show as Liberace playing him with so much life, managing to stay completely in character, complete with wide grin, the entire time. His performance made me want to see more of Liberace, someone that I have had virtually no interest in before. Finally, the chorus, despite not being the most talented singers and dancers, give everything they have livening up every scene in which they appear. Some of the hardest laughs came while they were on stage because of how much fun they brought to the show.

The only knocks on the show are of no fault of anybody involved with the Ventura production. The second act, as it is written, bogs down a little after such a lively first act. It felt like it was missing a song somewhere in the middle, but like I said before, it makes the show a show and provides some meaning to all of the fluff of the first act, so what can you do?

Also, Transport Theater doesn't have it's own theater, and 451 Media isn't an ideal performance space what with it's temporary seating, bathroom just off of the stage and unrelated art hanging on the walls of the stage, but they made it work as best as they can and I'm confident that with the success of this show, Transport will be able to find a more suitable space in the future.

But those two small problems can't damper the overall fun and excitement that makes Judy's Scary Little Christmas Ventura's can't miss holiday party. To Transport Theater: Can we make this a new holiday tradition please?

What: Judy's Scary Little Christmas
When: Two more performances, December 22nd and the 23rd at 8:00 PM
Where: 451 Media - 1328 North Ventura Ave
Tickets: $18 available by clicking here or call (805) 654-9154