Opening Nights
Homo for the Holidays
Oddfellows Hall, 915 E. Pike St. (West Hall, 2nd floor), 320-8458, strangertickets.com. $25–$30. 8 p.m. Wed.–Thurs., 7 & 10 p.m. Fri., Dec. 20–Tues., Dec. 24. Ends Dec. 24.
This Yuletide variety show wears its inclusive, gay-positive message like the best gaudy Christmas sweater, so shiny and bright you might need some fabulous sunglasses to watch it. The production team of BenDeLaCreme, Kitten LaRue, and Lou Henry Hoover has created a jolly mashup of almost every “holiday spectacular” you’ve ever seen. Charles Dickens, Frank Capra, and the apostle Luke really ought to share credit for the script. But Homo for the Holidays hardly needs a narrative; it’s just an excuse for a series of numbers that alternate between sincerely effective and an ironical “so-bad-it’s-good” style.
DeLaCreme is the hostess for this party, serving mulled Bud Light rather than wine. As a contemporary drag artist, she presents herself as a caricature, but has the voice and the presence to truly sell a song like “Home for the Holidays.” LaRue is her opposite number: an angel who needs to earn her wings, coming to Earth to save DeLaCreme from terminal tackiness. A burlesque dancer in her former life, it’s no surprise that at the end of her big number she has bells on her pasties. Hoover is joined by regular partner Cherdonna Shinatra in their usual Mutt and Jeff style, excelling at the fill-in parts like the best backup dancers.
Inga Ingenue and Faggedy Randy appear as Candy Cane and the Gingerbread Boy. Ingenue’s solo to Tchaikovsky’s Sugar Plum Fairy music is both a satire and a tribute to that Nutcracker perennial, as she gives her head a tiny shake to the tinkly celesta. Randy’s number, to Prince’s “Cream,” is pure Chippendales, as he can’t resist the milk left out for Santa. Playing Jesus, ilvs strauss is touched when Dad calls to sing “Happy Birthday.” Bo Mellinger is a high-maintenance elf, until he opens up with a big production number set to “Winter Wonderland.”
Jinkx Monsoon, who appears with Major Scales as “Dickensian Waifs” and “Your Jewish Neighbors From Down the Street,” seems to be performing in every theater in Seattle after winning on RuPaul’s Drag Race. This may be a good omen for DeLaCreme, who’s scheduled to appear as a contestant in that show’s new season. You can tell your friends you saw her here first. Sandra Kurtz
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stage@seattleweekly.com
