A Klingon Christmas Carol
By Christopher O. Kidder & Sasha Walloch
Directed by Christopher O. Kidder
Greenhouse Theater Ctr, 2257 N. Lincoln (map)
thru Dec 31 | tickets: $32 | more info
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A Trekkie holiday mind-meld of Dickensian proportions
Commedia Beauregard Theatre presents
A Klingon Christmas Carol
Review by J.H. Palmer
A Klingon Christmas Carol has something of a cult following; among the audience members on opening night were a dedicated few dressed to the teeth in full Klingon costume, including ridged forehead prosthetics. Commedia Beauregard’s stated mission is “to translate the universal human experience to the stage: to expand our horizons and share knowledge of all cultures, translating between languages and between arts to create theater that is beautiful in expression.” In pursuit of that mission, they once again bring the self-described “only full-length play ever produced completely in the Klingon language (tlhIngan Hol) from the Star Trek movies and TV shows,” to the stage.
As the narrator of the classic tale, Sara Wolfson leads the audience through the familiar story of Scrooge (or SQuja’ in Klingon, played by Kevin Alves), on what is known as the “Feast of the Long Night Song” (Klingons have no god or Christ), his assistant Bob Crachit (QachIt, played by Kai Young), and the spirits who visit him over the course of one night: Chris Lysy as Jacob Marley (marlI); Zack Livingston as the Ghost of Christmas Past (Kahless Past); Philip Zimmermann as the Ghost of Christmas Present (Kahless Present); and Manuel Twillie, Jr. as the Ghost of Christmas Yet-To-Come (Kahless Yet-To-Come).
The actors’ interpretations of their characters are easily recognizable, yet refreshingly different from the usual incarnation. Alves’ Scrooge is crotchety and stubborn, with a wry sense of humor that surfaces during key moments. Act I introduces the story of Scrooge and Crachit, and leads the audience through Scrooge’s meetings with the ghosts of Jacob Marley and the Ghost of Christmas Past. Act II picks up with Philip Zimmerman’s authoritative Ghost of Christmas Present, and moves into Manuel Twillie Jr.’s Ghost of Christmas Yet-To-Come, who has a presence as strong as any I’ve seen.
Initially skeptical of the Star Trek themed premise, over the course of the two acts I became wrapped up in the story, following the action and reading the supertitles as if I were at an opera sung in Italian. By the end of Act II, it genuinely satisfied my taste for a good story to see SQuja’ sharing a table with QachIt-and-family, and I left the theater with a great admiration for the imagination and thoroughness of the translators and lyricist, whom I’m certain had never worked on a project like this before. KCC is a fun twist on a classic holiday tale, detailed enough for the true blue Trekkie, but accessible and entertaining enough for everyone else.
Guest Celebrities
Future performances of KCC include special appearances by guest celebrities (see list below). Commedia Beauregard is still looking for a few more "celebrity" guest stars to join the cast in a one time performance, with a portion of the box office going to the charity of their choice. Anyone with a passion for Star Trek, or theatre, and can bring in a crowd is welcome! Full makeup will be provided. Future celebrities include:
December 8th- Fausto Fernos & Marc Fellion (Award winning hosts of Feast of Fun, a podcast of news, trends, celebrities and interviews on today’s hot topics.)
December 11th- Brian Babylon (Chicago comic, radio host and self proclaimed Prince of Bronzeville.)
December 15th- Elliot Serrano (Writer for the Redeye’s blog Geek to Me and master of all things geek.)
December 18th- Kaylee Williams (Actress and Scream Queen.)
Rating: ★★★
A Klingon Christmas Carol continues through December 31st at Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln (map), with performances Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2:30pm. Tickets are $32, and are available online here (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at cbtheatre.org. (Running time: play length, which includes one intermission)
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