Theatre Out Presents 'LAST CHRISTMAS I GAVE YOU MY HEART,' Opening Tonight

Theatre Out closes its 9th season with the audience favorite and critically-acclaimed home-grown musical by Darcy Hogan Last Christmas I Gave You My Heart But The Very Next Day You Said You Were Gay. Performances begin tonight, December 5, 2014.

2014 marks the 6th revival of Last Christmas? which began performances in 2007 as a late-night musical comedy during the holiday season and has played to sold-out houses ever since.

Last Christmas? is at once a unique celebration of the holidays and a no-holds-bar look at all things gay about this time of year. Very loosely based on the Frank Capra classic, It?s a Wonderful Life, Last Christmas? tells the story of Christopher, Santa?s most fabulous elf, as he tries to earn his jingle bells. Holly, a lonely girl in Nebraska, has sent her wish to Santa on Christmas Eve. She?s all alone and wants to find true love. Elves Christopher, Chico and Judy arrive just in time but they realize one critical thing ? before they can grant her Christmas wish, they must first teach her about the true gayness of the holidays. Holly gets quite an education about Christmas which includes carols that have been horribly censored for the general public. White Christmas, we learn, was originally called Gay Christmas and the elf standard He?s a ?Mo was censored and corrected to later become Let it Snow. After the singing and dancing, a surprise visit from Mrs. Claus and a special visit from Santa himself, Holly finds her long-lost Christmas love and Christopher?s Christmas wish is granted.

Theatre Out?s Last Christmas I Gave You My Heart But The Very Next Day You Said You Were Gay is directed by David C. Carnevale, Theatre Out co-founder and director of this year?s critically-acclaimed musicals Bare and The Drowsy Chaperone. ?I always know it is Christmas time when I hear these crazy Christmas carols,? Carnevale mused. ?I guarantee you that you will never be able to listen to your favorite Christmas carols without hearing Darcy Hogan?s clever lyrics and think about these three charming elves.?

?Last Christmas? literally was created as a challenge to the playwright,? commented Theatre Out co-founder Joey Baital. ?We knew what space we were working in, we knew what actors were in the show and we challenged Darcy to create an original LGBT-centric holiday show. The result was a resounding success that has become a tradition for many throughout the county.?

StageSceneLA raves that Last Christmas? is ?a tangy antidote to the season?s more traditional holiday theatrical fare.? While KUCI Radio exclaims, ?It IS silly and wonderfully so?if you can?t laugh at this, you need more eggnog!?

Last Christmas? features returning cast member Alexis Blythe Stansfield, recreating the role of Holly. Stansfield has become a Theatre Out staple both on and off the stage and was last seen as the under-appreciated, scandalous Bitsy Mae in Del Shores? Sordid Lives. A talented dancer as well, Stansfield has also contributed significantly to the choreography of Last Christmas? Julian Ronquillo takes on the role of Santa?s most fabulous elf, Christopher. Julian was last seen on the Theatre Out stage in The Drowsy Chaperone and will be featured as Leaf Coneybear in Theatre Out?s production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee opening in January. Across Orange County he has been featured in Rent, Damn Yankees, The Full Monty and Bare.

The cast also includes Theatre Out favorites Michael Gallardo (Chico), Laura DeLano (Judy), Dustin Thompson (Barry) and Glenn Freeze (Santa Claus) with a special appearance by Miguel Cardenas as a very non-traditional Mrs. Claus.

Last Christmas? features original choreography by Darius Rose, Alissa Sanchez, Alexis Blythe Stansfield, Darcy Hogan and David C. Carnevale. Baital is the Musical Director. The production is designed by Baital and Carnevale. Kimberlee Stone is the Stage Manager.

Tickets to Last Christmas? can be purchased online at www.TheatreOut.com or by visiting the Theatre Box Office 1 hour prior to curtain time, as available. Theatre Out is located at 402 W. 4th Street in Santa Ana, California. Last Christmas? performs December 5-20, 2014 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm with a Sunday 2:00 pm performance on December 14. All tickets are $20. Group discounts for groups of 10 or more are available by emailing the Box Office at info@theatreout.com.

Theatre Out was founded in 2006 as an at-large company dedicated to performing theatrical works relevant to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community throughout Orange County with an emphasis in sharing the LGBT experience with allies and the greater community. Theatre Out has received national and international attention for their work, receiving numerous awards for excellence in production. The founders of Theatre Out have been featured on the front page of The Orange County Register and were featured in the OC Weekly's Best Of 2012 issue as part of the "Dirty Dozen".

To post a comment, you must register and login.