Hell in a Handbag dons the gay apparel

The great thing about holiday perennials is that they sometimes take a break, and then return so that those of us who never saw them in the first place can get a chance to enjoy them. (Yes, I’m pretty sure that’s not actually how perennials work. I’m a theater geek, not a botanist, so cut me some slack.) At any rate, having never seen Hell in a Handbag’s Rudolph the Red-Hosed Reindeer, which was their go-to holiday show for years until their parody Golden Girls franchise and other camp explorations of the season took over, I’m delighted they’ve brought it back for its 25th anniversary. (That year, like my understanding of plants, is also fungible, according to playwright and artistic director David Cerda.)

Rudolph the Red-Hosed Reindeer
Through 1/5: Thu–Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM; also Wed 12/18 7:30 PM and Mon 12/30 7:30 PM (industry night); Fri 12/20 and Sat 12/21 7 PM; Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, handbagproductions.org, $45 general admission, $50 door, $52 advanced VIP/reserved seating with no drink ticket, $60 advanced VIP/reserved seating with drink ticket; 12/20-12/22 is a benefit weekend with preshow parties beginning Fri–Sat 6 PM and Sun 2 PM, $60 general admission (includes sweet treats), $125 VIP/reserved (includes reserved seating, sweet treats, drink ticket, and gift bag)

Now playing at Center on Halsted under Anthony Whitaker’s direction, Cerda’s spoof of the story of misfit Rudolph (Peter Ruger) recasts the Donners’ son as a cross-dresser who doesn’t understand why he can’t be his own fabulous self in Christmas Town. He’s joined by Kelly Bolton’s Herbie, who isn’t fabulous enough to fit in with the other elves. (The rules are different for reindeer and the out-and-proud toymakers—as Michael Hampton’s marketing-obsessed Santa says, “Nelly reindeer don’t fit our target demographic!”) 

Highlights include Caitlin Jackson’s gloriously dipsomaniacal Mrs. Claus (local treasure Jackson also kills it as Dolly, the depressed rag doll), Cerda and Terry McCarthy as catty cast members of The Real Housewives of the North Pole, Matt Sergot’s pissed-off Sam the Snowman, and Lori Lee’s addled-but-good-hearted Yukon Cornelia. It’s a recipe for a sweet, sardonic, filthy-minded show that, like Handbag’s Golden Girls outings, knows how to blend what makes the original so popular with clever asides and a just-earnest-enough plea for acceptance at the holidays and year-round. 

One thing that hasn’t changed, as Cerda noted opening night, is Scott Lamberty’s sprightly original arrangements of the songs (the cast sings live to recorded instrumental tracks). “Christmas Makes Me Bitter,” the first act’s blistering finale, should be everyone’s antidote to Mariah Carey.