"Who's Holiday" at the Hive Collaborative

After a long #TCTheater holiday* season, Christmas is finally upon us! But we have one more entry in the most wonderful time of the year (in theater ticket sales if nothing else) - the wild party with unexpected poignancy that is Who's Holiday at The Hive Collaborative. The casting of #TCTheater favorite Kim Kivens as a grown-up Cindy Lou Who was either a brilliant choice by director Max Wojtanowicz, or the biggest no-brainer ever. She looks the part, she's hilarious, and she can sing (comedically). This one-hour show is just the perfect dessert at the end of a great year of theater. But you need to act quick, because it's a super short run with only three remaining performances this weekend.

The play takes place in real time on Christmas Eve, and Cindy Lou Who is having a party. She's invited all of her friends (including some familiar names from the Seuss world), but one by one they cancel. In the meantime she talks to the audience as if we're her guests, and tells us the story of her life. Oh, and by the way, it's all in whimsical Seussical rhyme! She begins on that fateful Christmas when the Grinch tried to steal the Whos' joy, and had a change of heart. From that day on Cindy and the Grinch became fast friends, and when she turned 18, the relationship turned into something more. Cindy loved the green one and defended their love against the nay-sayers (including her parents), until the relationship soured. Our Cindy Lou has been on quite the life's journey, but she's determined to celebrate with her friends, or by herself (perhaps with the help of booze and drugs). She includes us in this celebration, a sort of bittersweet melancholy celebration of what we have, even if it's different from what we expected.

Kim Kivens as Cindy Lou Who (photo by Rue42 Photography)

This show feels like a bunch of friends got together and put on a show, in the best possible way. Max and Kim are a dream team, and have created something that's so fun and playful, raunchy and sweet. It's a laugh-a-minute show, that may also bring a tear to your eye. Kim is always a joy to watch (see also her scene stealing role in this summer's Grease at the Chan), never more so than in this show when it's all her. There's a bit of audience participation (beware if you're sitting in the front row) that allows Kim to play with the audience, while mostly sticking to the script. She delivers these rhyming lines naturally and with gusto, and we end up really feeling for Cindy Lou in her various traumas. When she directs us in a singalong, it's the crowning moment of the show.

Cindy lives in a trailer home, represented by a comfy Afghan-covered couch, a simple kitchen counter, a doorway, a corded phone on the wall, a decorated Christmas tree, and of course, a fully stocked bar. Christmas lights positively litter the ceiling, adding warmth and ambience. Cindy is dressed in a red party dress with a tinsel shrug, red ribbons in her hair. It's all very trailer trash chic and festive (design consultant Eric Morris, styling by Suzie Juul).

If you've got the post-Christmas blues and are looking for something to do on this weird weekend after a mid-week holiday, Who's Holiday is the perfect antidote. It's funny and irreverent and off-color, but also surprisingly sweet.

*Click here for reviews of all of the holiday shows I've seen this year.