Silent Night of the Lambs
Silent Night of the Lambs, by the wacky minds of Hell in a Handbag Productions, is a silly, smart-alecky holiday bonbon that marries, perversely, the stories of Rudolph of Red-Nosed Reindeer and Silence of the Lambs.
The resulting theatrical baby, which not only gender bends but species bends as well, is played broadly for laughs, and to be sure, there are laughs a plenty in this scaled-for-the-space Midwest premier production in a limited run in Mary’s Attic in Andersonville.
In this story Lt. Clarice Starling (Samantha McDonald) is the daughter of the famous alcoholic reindeer and she is on the trail of "The Skinner," (Ed Jones) a baddie who removes the skin of his victims, animal and human. To get to him Clarice must enlist the aid of a famous psychopath, Santa Claus (Derek Czaplewski), who does his darnedest to resemble Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter.
Along the way the energetic cast of 10, which also includes Hell in a Handbag Executive Director David Cerda as Lt. Betty Blitzen, roars through an over-the-top collection of jokes, puns, sight gags, eye rolls, groaners and costume changes that quickly eat up the best part of 90 minutes.
To be sure this production has a certain hey-gang-let’s-put-on-a-multi-media-show quality and that is a part of its charm -- making funny with soft antlers and bad wigs and big noses. I wondered at first if the show could maintain its frantic pace, patter and franetic energy throughout, and the answer is a resounding yes. Under Will Rogers direction, the wham-bam pace doesn’t let up until the mystery is solved, J.C. Penny’s daughter Filene (Ashleigh Ross) is released from her captivity and Clarice learns to embrace her own genetics.
It’s all quite gay and proud of its own cleverness. Shoe-horning the show into the gorgeous Mary’s Attic space is a nice stroke because it brings to the heart of Andersonville something to do it isn’t all about eating, drinking or shopping. It’s about laughing.
"Silent Night of the Lambs" runs Tuesdays through Saturdays to January 3 at Mary’s Attic, 5400 N. Clark St. Tickets are $15. For reservations: 800-838-3006. Or www.brownpapertickets.com/event/48559
