What could be more festive than a trip to Mexico with Girl Brain?
Such was the thinking behind the upcoming Christmas show, Weekend at Girlies, by Edmonton’s favourite female trio of sketch comics — Ellie Heath, Caley Suliak and Alyson Dicey. The show runs in two chunks, Thursday to Sunday, from Dec. 12 to 22 in the Lorne Cardinal Theatre at The Roxy (10708 124 St.)
“We’ve done quite a few girls’ getaways together,” says Heath. “It’s a great way to build memories, meet new friends and add to your friend group’s arsenal of stories and memories.”
The 90-minute evening sees Girl Brain sharing the dream (and queasy nightmare) of an all-inclusive vacation that culminates on New Year’s Eve with an ‘80s theme party. The audience can look forward to visits with classic all-inclusive resort characters such as Shauna and Donna, who experience their entire tropical trip through Instagram, as well as those two guys you meet on the plane down, become fast friends with at the swim-up bar, and have forgotten entirely the week after you get home. And what Mexican vacay would be complete without guac and salsa, followed by a visit from Montezuma (or at least his revenge)?
“The hope is that folks can find things they can relate to from past vacations,” says Heath. “If they haven’t been to an all-inclusive, this in some small way replicates that experience so they can feel they have had a little getaway this Christmas.”
It’s no surprise that Girl Brain would have an all-inclusive in their memory bank. The threesome — all of whom are theatre grads from Edmonton — have been more-or-less inseparable since 2017 when they began writing their first show together, which debuted at The Grindstone in the spring of 2018.
“We had absolutely no idea how it was going to go,” recalls Heath. “I remember walking into the lobby after the show and we were close to sold out. You could feel it was the start of something exciting.”
Their popularity has only grown since, with performances at The Citadel, The Varscona and The Westbury. In 2019, they joined Theatre Network’s Phoenix Performance Series and have been rocking the Roxy ever since. Girl Brain has appeared at international sketch comedy festivals in Philadelphia, Florida and Toronto.
The trio loves to champion other female and non-binary artists wherever they appear. This year’s Christmas show features visits from burlesque dancer Vira Von Velvet, plus musician Tiff Hall and drag artist Stretcher Hymen. On Friday and Saturday nights, there is a bonus tarot card reading (by donation to Reading by Roro) in the lobby of the Roxy.
Grindstone pays homage to Die Hard
Grindstone Theatre has turned up the popular ritual of seeing a Christmas show to 11 with the presentation of Die Harsh: A Christmas Musical — running Dec. 13 to 29 at the Orange Hub (10045 156 St.)
Now in its third year, the musical extravaganza is co-written by Grindstone artistic director Byron Martin and Simon Abbott, who is also the musical director of the show and its sound designer. Die Harsh smashes together the holiday favourite Die Hard (the 1988 movie starring Bruce Willis) with Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The result is a crazy concoction that sees the villainous Hans Schmuber visited by the ghosts of his dead henchmen who try to convince the Scrooge stand-in to have a change of heart or risk falling from the building.
“If people liked Jason Kenney’s Hot Boy Summer, or ThunderCats, or Accidental Beach, they’re really going to like Die Harsh,” says Martin. “…It’s very funny.”
While some see a tenuous connection between Die Hard and Christmas in the first place, Martin maintains that the Bruce Willis character (John McWayne in the Grindstone iteration) is just trying to save his family “which is what most Christmas movies are all about.”
“What’s fun about this one is that it really just turns up Christmas an absurd amount and it’s become its own piece,” says Martin.
The show began in 2022 as a 70-minute one-act in the tiny Grindstone space off Whyte Ave. By last year, it had grown to two acts with a live band that sold out the entire run at the 200-seat Varscona theatre. This year, there is an extra performer on stage, bringing the total cast to six actors playing 40 different roles. The musical includes tap dancing, and ballet, on point shoes.
Martin says at 350 seats, the Orange Hub will be a challenge to fill nightly but “we’re expecting to do fairly well.”
“Audiences are really liking it and it makes sense to have a Christmas show that’s our own,” he says. “For a lot of people, Die Hard is their annual Christmas movie and to find those people and give them an alternative to the traditional Christmas Carol is really great.”
Cycle explores life on a bike
Andrew Ritchie of Thou Art Here Theatre has developed an interactive one-person show about being a bicycle courier. It’s called Cycle and runs Dec. 11 to 22 at Mile Zero Dance Warehouse (9931 78 Ave.)
Audience members can experience the thrills and chills of being a food courier in Toronto by riding along beside Ritchie on stationary bikes set up in the theatre.