Ron Megee in Ebenezer Scrooge’s Big KC MO Christmas Show (Don Ipock)
Creating a new piece of holiday-themed theatre that doesn’t just entertain but has the potential to become an annual tradition is no easy feat, but Kansas City has managed to produce its fair share of such shows. I will happily turn out year after year for The Coterie Theatre’s Halloween tradition of Electric Poe. The Living Room’s Milking Christmas has returned a few times since its 2017 debut and is a delight every time. Ebenezer Scrooge’s Big KC MO Christmas Show, currently onstage at the Unicorn Theatre, is a KC-specific, irreverent take on A Christmas Carol that has all the makings of a recurring tradition, especially for those seeking a bit of rollicking, more adult-oriented holiday fare.
Ebenezer Scrooge’s Big KC MO Christmas Show shares the same story as the classic tale: On Christmas Eve, the miserly Scrooge (Ron Megee) is visited by three ghosts who show him the damage caused by his ungiving behavior. Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen’s new work follows Dickens’ classic fairly closely, but with constant self-referential, fourth-wall-breaking commentary, plus some major deviations. As the title suggests, it takes place in Kansas City, and there are just enough KC-specific jokes for the concept to land without laying the local appeal on too thick. The show generally evokes a 19th-century setting but the anachronisms are plentiful and deliberately over-the-top. The Ghost of Christmas Present (Teisha M. Bankston), for instance, makes TikTok references while scrolling on her cell phone, and Christmas carolers accost Scrooge with Chappell Roan songs on his commute home. Georgiana Londre’s fantastic costumes help thread this needle, allowing the actors to flit seamlessly between the past and an exaggerated present.
At just 90 minutes, Ebenezer Scrooge’s Big KC MO Christmas Show is an energetic whirlwind packed full of genuine laughs. It’s obvious that the small cast (rounded out by Steven Eubank, Jessica Dressler, and Francisco “Pancho” Villegas) is having a lot of fun with the material and that feeling is infectious. In fact, seeing the show in its first preview performance meant that I witnessed quite a few flubs and stumbles, but the ensemble’s chemistry and charm, plus the free-wheeling tone of the show itself, made the audience more than happy to laugh along with any and every misstep.
Under the direction of Unicorn’s new artistic director Ernie Nolan, Ebenezer Scrooge’s Big KC MO Christmas Show is wonderfully playful but still lands its emotional moments. As the ghosts’ impact hits Scrooge, the show has a major tonal shift, and the stark contrast against the nonstop exuberance up to that point allows the sudden sincerity to resonate deeply. The play is a fun romp from start to finish but it also has the heart you’d expect of a Christmas show. I’m not sure if the play will return in future years but it certainly has the potential to become a holiday mainstay worth repeat viewings. In the meantime, it offers a hearty supply of campy musical merriment this winter season.
“Ebenezer Scrooge’s Big KC MO Christmas Show” runs through December 22 at the Unicorn Theatre, 3828 Main St. For more information, call 816-531-7529 or visit unicorntheatre.org.
