Review: A CHRISTMAS OF MANY PARTS at A.D. Players

A.D. Players has taken their one act A CHRISTMAS OF MANY PARTS, and extended it to a more formal two act structure for the holiday season. It's a great deal of fun, and theater goers should find a lot to love here. The play is written by A.D. Players founder Jeannette Clift George along with company member Kevin Dean, and directed by Joey Watkins. It's a farce in the same style of NOISES OFF in that it's about a group of actors putting on a play where nothing seems to go right. In the case of A CHRISTMAS OF MANY PARTS we follow a theatre company as they prepare for and travel with a touring production of the Biblical extravaganza NATIVITY! There are huge sets, striking costumes, and a chance at every turn for things to go wrong. The final act shows the poor troop dealing with what happens when all but four of the cast misses a plane, and little of the props or scenery show up. But the show must go on, and a Christmas miracle proves that they might be able to pull off a powerful Christmas show with only the barest of necessities.

The cast includes Kevin Dean, Jeff McMorrough, Jennifer Gilbert, Patty Tuel Bailey, and Jason Hatcher. They are all heroically funny, and each have a bit or turn that evokes the right kind of belly laughs. The key here is the ensemble sells the truth of the situations, and then transcends all of that to hit the farce notes when the funniest final act hits. The actors make this one work, and they do an admirable job of keeping things moving along. I bought every moment, and they had the audience howling for most of the night with their antics.

The script itself is funny, but you can feel where it has been stretched. The big payoff comes in the second half with the hilarious NATIVITY sequence, but the two bits before that feel somewhat long and padded. I can imagine as a tight one act A CHRISTMAS OF MANY PARTS might make more structural sense, but thankfully we like the actors enough to forgive any parts where the evening drags a little.

A.D. Players always has some of the best sets and costume designs in Houston, and this one doesn't disappoint. Mark Lewis has to pull off several iterations of the fictional set as the plot advances, and he pulls off some of the funniest moments of the night with his constructions. Donna Southern Schmidt's costumes are equally well designed to be both giggle worthy and impressive. The lights by Nikki Johnson also get in on the gags with some appropriately off spotlight cues and brightly lit main sequences.

A CHRISTMAS OF MANY PARTS is a very funny way to celebrate the holidays, and a nice departure from your usual CHRISTMAS CAROL or NUTCRACKER. It's fast, fun, funny, and everything about it works except maybe for a couple of scenes that feel stretched. The final act pay-off though is worth it, and the entire NATIVITY sequence finds five actors doing what they do best. Lines are flubbed, costumes are mangled, sheep are impersonated, and the baby Jesus is daftly portrayed by a bath towel. Yet the Christmas magic wins in the end, and somehow everything works out for everybody. This one will make you smile!

A.D. Players runs A CHRISTMAS OF MANY PARTS through December 23rd. Tickets can be purchased through their website at http://www.adplayers.org/ . You can also call the box office at (713) 526-2721. Shows are Wednesdays through Sundays until they close on the 23rd.

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