Review: RYAN AND SHARPE'S CHRISTMAS THINGY at TCs Midtown Grill

Broadway World loves to party, and when it’s a holiday shindig, that’s even better! So, when my buddies Ryan Harmon, Sharpe Dunaway, and Host Santa Blake said they were celebrating by having the RYAN AND SHARPE’S CHRISTMAS THINGY at TCs Midtown Grill, 1611 E Oak St, Ste 15, in Conway, I knew I had to go. For the price of a non-perishable food item, which was donated to the Soul Food Cafe Mission that has been helping the hungry in Conway since 2001, we were able to partake in the merriment with a chance to play games for cash and prizes and get a serenade from the Screaming Santas that reunited after over 20 years of retirement.  

The festivities kicked off with a game, roughly named “How Many Inches Are You Expecting for Christmas?” The women would say how many and then blindly use a measuring tape to guess if they were correct. Some did great and others wished for more than what they said, which merited the hosts saying “Sometimes it’s not the inch it’s the width,” and then Ryan chimes in with “and sometimes it’s the thought that counts.”  

After the game was over, Ryan and Sharpe entertained the masses with Run, Run Rudolph, Rocking Around the Christmas Tree, Blue Christmas, a Ryan Harmon original entitled Country Fried and other merry tunes. At this point, Ryan is really growing on me. After one of their many songs, Ryan says, “This one’s for the ladies....they’re all for the ladies” and starts playing I Remember You by Skid Row. During their set, other musicians join in including Matt Hays and David Miles, who do my favorite version of Oh Come All Ye Faithful by Twisted Sister.  

Next Game is called "You Motherf*****." Game Master Sharpe pits friends against each other and lays down $5 at a time. The first one to grab the money is the motherf*****. On the first round, Santa Blake runs off with $45.  

After several rounds of "You Motherf*****," David Miles, dressed in a snazzy tux, and Dan Wagner sing Merry Christmas Baby, an acoustic Van Halan song and Landslide. Ryan, Sharpe and others join the duo for a Springsteen version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Panama. 

Then, switching out more of Central Arkansas’ best musicians, Big Shane Thornton and Luke Williams take the stage with Ryan and Sharpe for more music including Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire and a Big Shane original That’ll Be Christmas. But when Ryan switches to drums and Justin Keith jams out on bass, Shane croons a fabulous rendition of Kiss and Purple Rain by Prince. This is when the girls take to the dance floor.  

Next up is Ryan’s game “Pick in the Sound Hole.” Malorie from Conway was the lucky winner who threw the pick into the guitar hole....well, sort of. Maybe there were some shenanigans in the technicalities, but who cares. Afterwards crowd favorite Perry Morriss gave away Screaming Santa CDs before the band hit the stage. 

Banging out a cornucopia of holiday classics, The Screaming Santas-Erik Johnson, Ty Sims, Darrell Yates and Sharpe Dunaway put their own spins to songs like Winter Wonderland, All I Want for Christmas is You, Holly Jolly Christmas and the hilarious Spank My A** for Christmas.   

The final game of the night was an electroshock game where people allowed themselves to be shocked until the last person standing won $100. After several minutes, Belinda was our big winner. Special thanks went out to the folks at TCs Midtown Grill and Ace Hardware for helping with the event. 

To finish out the night Josey John and Curtis Bland performed a set that included Backstreets Back and Freebird, and then Sharpe and Santa Blake led a restaurant sized kazoo group number of Jingle Bells. With that it was close enough to 1am, and my party pants headed out the door, but not until after giving everyone holiday lovings. 

The charisma from the stage was oozing all night long, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself at this party. Ryan and Sharpe brought out so many talented performers that I couldn’t decide which one I loved more. The Christmas hits were free flowing along with a lot of other favorites that got us all in a cheery mood. I especially was excited to see the Screaming Santas, and David Miles was an entertaining surprise. Everyone was so astounding. We had a blast! Ryan, Sharpe and Santa Blake threw the best Christmas party that I’ve ever attended. I can’t wait to do it again next year.  

Broadway World would like to send a big 'Thank You' to James Cox for these wonderful pictures! For more information on upcoming events at TCs Midtown Grill, visit their website at tcsmidtown.com.

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