Don’t let the puppets fool you, Who Killed Santa? is not your typical, saccharine-saturated holiday show. On the contrary, Milwaukee playwright Neil Haven delights in subverting the classic Christmas tales you hold dear, creating an absurdist narrative that quickly spirals into madness like an alcoholic’s holiday-inspired fever dream.
This year’s staging of Who Killed Santa? marks the 10th anniversary of the play’s debut. Over the past decade, the show has been re-produced at several venues around the country, from Louisville to Los Angeles. This season, the play found a new home at the recently-rebranded LVL Events (formerly known as La Cage), where audience members have access to a full bar and can get suitably boozed-up throughout the show.
Before his annual pre-Christmas party kicks off, an already tipsy Santa (Bo Johnson) lounges on the countertop, singing a bawdy re-interpretation of “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.” One by one, the party guests filter in— an endearingly dopey Frosty the Snowman (Nate Press), a grown-up, sex-starved Tiny Tim (Grace DeWolff), a promiscuous, liquor-loving Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Tawnie Thompson), a washed-up, blunt-smoking Little Drummer Boy (JJ Gatesman) and Santa’s newest “helper”— a busty redhead named Chastity (Kendall Yorkey) who’s soon to assume the role of Little Drummer Girl.
Tensions flare as each guest reveals they have a bone to pick with Santa, and before long, the jolly man in red ends up with a candy cane pierced through his back. In a series of hilarious exchanges, preposterous twists and cleverly innuendo-laden Christmas tunes, the cast of holiday characters attempts to deduce which of them is the cold-blooded killer. Ultimately, three audience members put their heads together to solve the mystery, with different endings depending on who was accused.
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Who Killed Santa? simultaneously shocks and charms with its blunt irreverence to Christmas’ most beloved figures. Haven’s sucker-punch dialogue had the crowd cackling from start to finish (a few self-deprecating, Wisconsin-specific digs received particularly riotous responses), and the plot kept the audience on their toes as it veered further and further into the realm of insanity. The puppets themselves, crafted with care by Dan Katula, yield for some great physical comedy— such as Frosty’s perpetually wide-eyed gaze or drunken Rudolph’s asymmetrically droopy eyelids. Playing the show’s sole non-puppet characters, Bo Johnson shines as Santa, an incompetent detective, the Tooth Fairy and Mrs. Claus. Each role he takes on radiates an infectious warmth— his presence on stage is magnetic.
The combined effect of all these elements is an unapologetically crass, unexpectedly addictive experience that seems to fly by just as quickly as Santa’s guests tear through his liquor reserves. Who Killed Santa? may just be the perfect remedy for any Scrooge who wrinkles their nose at the standard, wholesome features of the holiday season.
Through Dec. 30 at LVL Events, 801 S. 2nd St. For tickets, visit www.whokilledsanta.com.
