Dark Holiday Comedy
It’s A Wonderful Pro-Life is the darkest satirical holiday show I’ve seen so far. However, while this show may not give you the “Whoville” holiday spirit uplift, it does a wonderful job of exploring deeper life themes while still managing to find a happy ending.
4 Days Late has put together yet another successful, rather controversial, production. While addressing the topic of abortion during a holiday show is typically frowned upon, the tact with which they approach this show makes the focus more about relationships than anything else. The storyline is an NPR holiday radio show within the actual 4 Days Late production. Alex Myerchin plays George Bailey and Erin Johnson plays Mary Hatch. The NPR show is recorded in the radio booth and once the cast steps out of the booth, they all snap out of character and play some version of themselves. The entire cast takes full ownership of each of their roles: Myerchin and Johnson as an angry, dueling wannabe couple, Dan Gold as the Christmas-loving Jew, Alex Pass defends himself from being pinned as the stereotypical “gay guy,” Emily Friedrick just wants everyone to get along, Anna Schlegel and Tony Jasksha are a married couple thinking about leaving the city – leaving a void in the group and Jason Lord is the angry, controlling director of the show.
Everyone was a pure delight to watch, but my hat goes off to Jason Lord. In my opinion, he stole the show. While his role was quite literally what held together both shows, as he played the director, Lord’s performance was astounding. His pure commitment and unadulterated emotional rage was so fierce, it was frightening, but it never flirted with being uncontrollable or unbelievable. He was magnetic.
I was curious as to how the show would find a way to tie itself together, but alas, without fail, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” came in for the save. It’s A Wonderful Pro-Life is a smart and challenging holiday comedy and I would recommend to get your tickets before the run is over and…keep an open mind.
