Review: Kay Sedia's FELIZ NAVIDIVA - A Holiday Piñata Overflowing With Laughter
By: Gil Kaan Dec. 14, 2015
FELIZ NAVIDIVA/by Oscar Quintero & Kurt Koehler/directed by Kurt Koehler/The Lyric-Hyperion Theatre & Cafe/thru December 19, 2015
In FELIZ NAVIDIVA, Kay Sedia (the self-proclaimed size 2, 18-year-old alter ego of Oscar Quintero) - hysterically regales her attentive audience in a quick one-hour set with her recent childhood stories of Christmases growing up in Tijuana. (Her childhood's recent as she's only 18, after all!) Kay Sedia opens with a medley of Christmas tunes, although Christmas standards have never been sung this hilariously before. With a few serious ballads sprinkled in between the outrageous Spanglish versions of Christmas carols, Kay Sedia's solid vocal pipes get properly utilized and surprisingly revealed to all listeners. Who knew she could really sing underneath all that big hair and hairspray!!!
With mini flashbacks (or hallucinations), a running battle with the mike cord ("Shouldn't I have a wireless by now?"), semi-spirited, but very calienté dance moves, a guest star to vamp for her wardrobe change, and a hunky immigration officer; Kay Sedia's a built-for-laughter hurricane force to be reckoned with. Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer becomes Jose the gardener. Santa Baby turns into Santa Papi. "O Holy Night" into "O Holy Sh*t!" (referring to being caught by immigration).
Kay Sedia's mommy set her straight on why Santa never came to their house. Not because little Kay Sedia was bad. No, Santa couldn't get across the border to Tijuana. Kay Sedia even goes dramatic in a scene playing her own mother downing a can of Budweiser. Nice!
"Baby, It's Cold Outside" morphs from a pair of flirting lovers to an immigration officer ( a honeyed-toned Daron Duncan Quintero) telling Kay Sedia that she "really can't stay." They have a second wonderful melodious duet with Blake Shelton's "Oklahoma Christmas."
As Kay Sedia's special guest/wardrobe-change stage-filler, Craig Taggart as Bette Midler cunningly entertains with her strong vocals, sounding very Bette in "Mele Kalikimaka" and recapping the story behind her namesake (Bette Davis).
With many years having worked together, Kurt Koehler effectively directs Kay Sedia with a loose rein. Quite obviously Kay Sedia thinks of Koehler as her god. She immediately obeys Koehler's voice of god that periodically comes over the sound system prompting, er, directing Kay Sedia in her next bits. Quite amusing!
A merry, merry time was had by all, especially those in the front row that Kay Sedia picked on.
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