by Kirby Lindsay, posted 11 December 2013
On Monday, December 16th, starting at 7:30p, West Of Lenin will host another installment of the ‘B-Sides & Rarities’ series by producers James Jewell, Paul Shipp and Joe Zavadil. ‘Christmas B-Sides & Rarities’ will be performed, live and in person for one-night only…and that is the way Jewell likes it.
Extemporaneous
“If you are not there, it’s gone,” Jewell acknowledged, “that extemporaneous nature is part of its appeal.”
The cabaret show, a variety cavalcade of music, performances and performers, has been produced twice before but never with the same material – and has many appeals.
Those looking for a different, slightly twisted Christmas tone, will want to check this out. Past productions have included a funeral dirge version of ‘Frosty The Snowman,’ the song ‘Santa Baby’ done as a love song to the Santa Baby (as in Jewell, dressed in a diaper,) and a punk rock version of a Perry Como standard. Last year, a piece Jewell wrote, called ‘Three Fucking Shepherds,’ that had a particularly grisly ending, was replaced following the Sandy Hook school shooting with a piece called ‘Drunk Jesus.’
Yet, “this is not anti-Christmas,” Jewell explained, “It is Christmas-themed. It is a much different take,” he said, than the commercial, saccharine Christmas shows most often served up at this time of year. ‘Christmas B-Sides & Rarities’ audiences can explore the angst, the blues and flat out weirdness holidays can inspire. “Some of my best Christmases,” Jewell explained, “have been spent weirdly.” One example: a Christmas Eve night spent drinking beer in a barn with friends.
Inspirational
‘Christmas B-Sides & Rarities’ can be dark, and its original inspiration certainly started there. Zavadil, Shipp and Jewell first came together as friends trying to process the death of a dear friend, and popular local performer, Nellis. After he drank himself to death, according to Jewell, his friends processed their grief, and other feelings, by writing a play. The work, a variation on ‘A Christmas Carol’ called ‘Three Spirits’, ultimately has the friends meet a ghost who assures them that he is okay. “Nellis would have approved,” Jewell recently observed.
Pairing that play with one about the ‘true story’ of Santa’s elves, and working conditions at the North Pole, the producers staged a performance at The Rendezvous. Drawing in the talents of their friends, and those of Nellis, the show got a great reception, and, “I think doing that play was really cathartic for us,” Jewell remarked.
Since then, the producers have continued to put together ‘B-Sides & Rarities’ cabaret shows – another at Christmas last year, and then two this year, on baseball and on Seattle. “We take things we love,” Jewell explained of the concept, “and poke fun at them by looking at their dark side.” This isn’t necessarily farce, nor are they intended as slams. “If I make fun of you,” Jewell observed, “it means I like you.”
Sparks
“These shows are fun,” Jewell said, and one-night-only. They spark from the most basic of show business ‘let’s-do-a-show-in-the-barn’ tradition. “I’ve been really happy with the product on the stage,” he reported. Without recruiting, the show has engaged an impressive line-up of musicians, writers and actors – including multiple winners of the Mazen Award, an acknowledgement given by the 14/48 Theater Festival to performers for risk-taking and camaraderie.
This year, the 14/48 Projects have partnered with the ‘B-Sides & Rarities.’ Jewell serves on the staff of 14/48 Projects, which has sought partnerships with local, small projects in need of support to grow. The partnership with ‘B-Sides & Rarities’ is expected to serve as a model for what these partnerships can look like, and what each group can offer and receive.
Entertainment
Willing audiences can receive a night of wildly outrageous entertainment, and intriguing if slightly odd Christmas-themed acts that will include buffoonery from Christine and Lyam White. Joey Kline will play rock-n-roll while E-Ray and the LPs deliver ukulele mayhem. Kymberlee della Luce will bring ‘Joy To The World,’ while Jennifer Jasper shares magical, maniacal storytelling. Paul Mullin will share poetry and memoir, while Jennifer Neel, with producers Shipp and Zavadil, will perform an original piece called ‘Redneck.’
Over roughly two hours (not including intermission,) the show includes a few traditional, theatrical-style plays like ‘Yule Log’ written by Dan Tarker and performed by Megan Ahiers and Mark Fullerton, plus another by Cody Smith. Jewell has also written a piece, called ‘Magi’, that he fashioned on the story ‘The Gift Of The Magi,’ but warned that, “it’s really not about Christmas.” It will be performed by Jaryl Allen Draper, Fox Rain Matthews, and Madison Marie Rengli.
Even more performances will be coming from the talents of Scot Augustson, John McKenna, and Colleen Roberston. It will be a full evening, of every kind of variation possible on the theme of Christmas.
Tickets remain available, for $15 through Brown Paper Tickets. Tickets will cost $18 at the door, if any remain. Past shows haven’t always sold out in advance, but for a show that, for now, can only be seen in person, on one night of the year, it might be best not to take any chances…
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©2013 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.