It Was a Very Good Yule: 1940s Edition
Mad Cow Theater
Directed by Ron Schneider Musical director Josh Ceballos. With Bert Rodriguez, Alexa Neilen, Victoria Broadhurst and Alan Gillespie
Club Moo is open again with a holiday cabaret centered around the 1940’s. This was the beginning of the golden age of Christmas carols; almost all the classics came from the 1940’s and 1950’s. Songs range from maudlin to silly. Blame today’s fuel injected holiday phenomenon on a mix of war time separation and post war prosperity, but here’s where it all begins. There’s a logic here as well; the show is neatly organized into “Christmas Songs That Never Mention the Holiday,” then we hear “Honey, Please Come Back from the War” material which leads into “Amazingly Bad British Christmas Music,” then “Unexpected Artists” and of course, the crowd pleasing punch out number “Bing Crosby Plus Orange Juice” wrap up.
Of course, everything sounds good here, and the standards are sung to, well, lofty standards. But this gold lies in the obscurities: Bert Rodriguez Squeaking out “The Fairy Atop the Christmas Tree” in his best English school mar ‘m voice, Mr. Gillespie faking Bing Crosby complete with the hat the comatose vocals, MORE. It’s a short one hour show, and you have to get your drinks in the lobby; some of the more cabaret oriented hot spots keep that money making bar right next to the stage.
