Review: 'Wreck The Halls' at TheatreWorks New Milford

Dedicated to the entire Garrison-Koch family

New Milford, CT - So if you couldn’t tell by the title WRECK THE HALLS, A Musical Slay Ride, this is a quintessentially irreverent look at all things of the holiday season. It is definitely NOT politically correct, despite the fact that one of the numbers is entitled “Happy Politically Correct Holidays!”

This original work with music and lyrics written by the venerable Bradford Blake delightfully pokes fun at every winter holiday icon in an equal-opportunity manner and is so hysterically funny that you can’t help laughing your way through the two music-filled acts. While it comes with a warning that this is not recommended for the younger elves that you love, it is an extremely fun night out for adults that are not easily offended. While some of the scenes are very fresh in nature, and might even relegate the composer to Santa’s Naughty List, I found it to be so good-natured and comically brilliant that I couldn’t be offended.

WRECK THE HALLS started life when I wrote the song “That Yule Log” and decided it would need an irreverent holiday musical revue to inhabit. After writing five or six more numbers, I told a good friend (and TheatreWorks alum) Tom Libonate, that I needed a title for this show and, without missing a beat, he turned to me and said, “What about WRECK THE HALLS?” I wrote the title number that night and kept on writing song after naughty song until I felt I had sufficiently slaughtered and roasted the holiday season. - Bradford Blake

The slaying begins with Thanksgiving, moves through the Festival of Lights, the arrival of winter and ends with all things Christmas. The very strong first act includes “Someone Spiked the Eggnog,” “The Spice in the Gingerbread Man,” and “Another Family Christmas” (with ANOTHER FAMILY.) As difficult as it was for me to choose, my favorites were “The Hanukkah Song” that featured the three ladies in the cast, and “Gonna Make the Yuletide Gay” performed by the three guys. The first act ended in a big way with a stage filled with holiday decorations extolling the virtues of “A Simple Holiday.”

The second act opens with Santa’s reindeer searching for Rudolph. This is followed by the hysterical laments of a Christmas tree angel, a nutcracker, and a pageant shepherd, and the show ends with several cheeky numbers, including three UPS guys delivering “Your Christmas Package.”

“Happy KwanzaRamaHanuMas to all...and to all a good night!”

The brilliantly-conceived musical numbers moved along at a breakneck speed, keeping the six cast members extremely busy. Once the punchline of the scene became apparent, the audience members could not help but laugh out loud. Not only does Mr. Blake work magic with his clever lyrics, he manages to weave bits of the melodies of some beloved Christmas carols into several of the numbers. However, this remains a truly original holiday show that is brought to life by a multi-talented cast of area performers.

Bret Bisaillon (JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, MAMMA MIA!, STARCATCHER at the Warner) was at his comedic best in this show. I smiled when he donned the shepherd ensemble in “I DON’T WANT TO BE A SHEPHERD NO MORE,” just as he had for the role of Simeon in JOSEPH and he was just as memorable. Mr. B is a fifth grade teacher in Waterbury and returned to this venue after nearly 20 years “to join this merry cast of characters to ‘deconstruct the holidays.’”

Diana Matson also returned to this stage after a 20 year hiatus to once again be a part of this show and she obviously enjoyed every minute. Community theatre veteran Priscilla Squires (SOUVENIR at TheatreWorks in 2015) was also happy to return to what she describes in her bio as “the joyful collaboration” of “wrecking the halls with such a congenial cast and creative team, guided by the vivid imagination of the inestimable Mr. Blake.”

What a treat to see Austin Tewksbury (DROWSY CHAPERONE in Goshen, JOSEPH at the Warner) onstage in such a fun show; I enjoyed his lament of his wife shopping on “Black Friday.” I always enjoy the performances of Carey Van Hollen (I DO, I DO, AVENUE Q, PROOF) and this member of the original cast of WRECK THE HALLS promises to “cut anyone who tries to steal her part.” It is she that gets to perform “That Yule Log.” Alexis Maximus Vournazos was also grateful to Mr. Blake for the opportunity to be back on stage and “have the time of my life” as a “fruitcake” in this piece.

Bradford Blake was the Founding Artistic Director of Musicals at Richter, Inc. in Danbury, celebrating 35 year in 2020. Ms. Squires reminded me that he wrote another original musical revue entitled SMORGASBORD. Mr. Blake is already in rehearsal for a production of this piece at The Ridgefield Theatre Barn; it will run for the entire month of February 2020 in Ridgefield. Mr. Smith is working with the composer on SMORGASBORD, “yet another Bradford Blake original (like we need more?)”

Mr. Blake directed and choreographed his work, and did so brilliantly. Shout outs to the extremely busy stage manager Tina Morrissette and her assistant Beth Plotkin and controlling the chaos backstage. Tom Libonate was the talented voice over artist and Mary Kimball sewed the ever-changing costumes. Mr. Blake designed the festive set and Peter F. Petrino (YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, ZOMBIE PROM) designed the lighting to make it look its best. And those endless props! The band that sat behind a snow-globe screen onstage were led by the music director Charles Smith on piano, with retired Naugatuck HS teacher Robert Kogut on percussion and Charles Casimiro on bass.

What a great idea to have this holiday show run until after Christmas so that even more folks can catch it before it closes on Dec. 28. I wish more venues would follow TheatreWorks’ lead. I saw Amity High School’s Rob and Andrea Kennedy and Juliette and Dan Koch and their lovely daughter Rachel at what for me was a “make up” performance on the final weekend. I was so happy to be allowed to attend a performance after missing an earlier performance due to weather.

Nancy Sasso Janis, writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local venues, posts over 100 reviews each year. In 2016, her membership in the Connecticut Critics Circle began and her contributions of theatrical reviews, previews, and audition notices are posted not only in the Naugatuck Patch but also on the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theatre Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the NEW CCC Facebook page.

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