This time of year, theater companies can be counted on to offer up plenty of Christmas classics. Case in point: Roger Bean’s “Winter Wonderettes,” presented by the Bay Area Music Theatre in Marin Shakespeare Company’s indoor space in San Rafael.
Welcome to 1968 and Harper’s Hardware Holiday Happening, a winter tradition in the town of Springfield — not the cartoon home of Marge and Homer Simpson, and definitely not where, a few months ago, Haitian immigrants were accused of eating cats and dogs, as we are informed before the show begins.
Directed by Robert Currier, Marin Shakes’ co-founder, the stars of the fictional end-of-year bash at a big hardware store are the eponymous Wonderettes, a ’60s-style girl group of Harper’s employees, who perform a couple dozen favorite Christmas songs while sharing personal travails.
Veterans of many Bay Area musicals, the quartet includes Gillian Eichenberger as “bad girl” Cindy Lou. HarriettePearl Fugitt is Suzy, aka “Suzy Snowflake,” who’s happy-go-lucky and very pregnant, but can’t stop flirting with the man in her life, the show’s lighting technician. Heather Mae Steffen brings a touch of sadness to the role of Betty Jean, who recently separated from her high school sweetheart husband. Anna Vorperian plays Missy, the ebullient and hyper-energetic overachiever.
On a simple set by Jackson Currier, backed by bright projections from Roger Clay, the four sing, dance and goof their way through songs as familiar as “O Tannenbaum,” “Jingle Bells,” “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and “Santa Baby.” They also tackle less-familiar tunes such as “A Marshmallow World,” “We Wanna See Santa Do the Mambo” and “Christmas Will Be Just Another Lonely Day.” Sporting period-appropriate costumes by Ashley Garlick, the foursome strut their goofy stuff with aplomb — choreography by Rick Wallace — while the three-piece band (Paul Smith on piano, Debra Chambliss on keyboard and Mike Evans on drums) rocks the house.
Act One has a palpably improvisational feel as the four find their footing among an imaginary audience of co-workers — and a shocker when the entire Harper’s workforce receives pink slips as a cruel joke from the company’s owner — a joke that’s turned on its head in Act Two, after the girls find some cohesion for their act.
This cohesion is most apparent in the Wonderettes’ harmonizing, dance and tap-dance sequences, and comic timing — all of which improve as the show moves along. Solo vocals are also compelling, such as Betty Jean’s “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” and Cindy Lou’s “All Those Christmas Cliches.”
A fun outing is in store for theater fans ready for a moderate-intensity, affordably priced comic musical. The show moves along at a quick pace; the performers and audience have a really good time with a simple premise about plausible characters in plausible circumstances. The closing number is a sweetly evocative performance of “Winter Wonderland,” a song that in the Bay Area could easily be dubbed “Water Wonderland.”
Barry Willis is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and president of the SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. Contact him at barry.m.willis@gmail.com
What: “Winter Wonderettes”
Where: Marin Shakespeare Company, 514 Fourth St., San Rafael
When: Through Jan. 5; 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays; 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays starting Jan. 1
Admission: $15 to $40
Information: 415-499-4485; marinshakespeare.org/tickets
Rating (out of five stars): ★★★
