BRIGIT SAINT BRIGIT THEATRE CO.
The Holiday Room
Written by Adam Bassing, Allana G. Pommier, Dulcie Mueller, Jay Hayden, Katt Walsh, MS Wulfgar, Renzellous Brown, and Uroosa Biesanz
Directed by Murphy Scott Wulfgar
December 5 - 15
Brigit and Benson Theatre continue their delightful tradition of mixing holiday folklore, classic stories, cultural celebrations, and original ideas with an all new script, new players, and more! Ever heard of Mari Lywd, the Welsh horse skull who wants your beer? Nope. Us neither. How about the glowing-eyed Yule Cat of Iceland who devours those without new clothes on Christmas Eve? Not cool, Yule Cat.
THE STORY: ​​​​ In a local apartment building as old as the neighborhood itself, tenants' are forced to share their community room to celebrate different holiday parties on one night. Who decides what? Music? Food? Decorations? Seemingly small decisions take on greater meaning (and a healthy dose of absurdity) as chaos ensues, traditions unspool, and a touch of the supernatural intervenes. Along this merry journey, we peer inside individual apartments, learning that context is everything.​ Sometimes the best traditions are the new ones that just happen.
THE STORIES, CHARACTERS, AND INSPIRATIONS
Working as a group this summer, the creative team behind The Holiday Room collectively penned a full-length, fully formed play celebrating collaboration and communication. The diverse minds, people and cultures depicted in the play are reflections of the individual writers that made up the collective. The Holiday Room is equal parts funny, sentimental, spooky, heart-warming, and thoughtful-- everything you've come to expect from BSB's Holiday Lights tradition.
One of the first classic stories we talked about contemporizing was O'Henry's "Gift of the Magi", about a poor couple trying to make ends meet but still wanting each to give to each other at Christmas. She cuts her beautiful, long hair and sells it to buy him a fob for his family heirloom pocket watch. While he sells his watch to buy her a tortoise shell comb for her lovely locks. The beauty and simplicity of the old adage, "it's the thought that counts" nudged us into a world of possibilities, pairings, and outcomes.
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Theatre is greater than the sum of its parts. It is unavoidably a looking glass into its makers, and if done well, something in which every audience member can see a bit of themselves, as well. The same holds true for healthy, thriving communities. This universality is something that has been baked into every BSB production since its inception over thirty years ago. It has become our tradition at the end of every year to present a show celebrating, with laughter and love, a cocktail of tradition with something new. Join us in December to revel in all the crazy, wonderful, unbelievable, touching, and yes, joyful things that make us different... and very much the same ;)
We will reveal more here over the coming months and weeks leading up to opening to give you insights into the stories, characters, and featured writers of this one-of-a-kind, community-based project.