Theater Mirror
December 2007

Deconstructive Christmas entertainments have become part of the seasonal landscape along with sugar plum fairies, Scrooges and ho-ho-ho's; over at the Factory Theatre, the X-Mas Project, showcasing the cream of Boston's fringe-artists, is currently offering Jeff Goode's THE EIGHT: REINDEER MONOLOGUES where Santa Claus' team vent against a boss who cannot keep his hands off anything on four hooves. The monologues begin hilariously, enough, with actors sporting antlers and blackened noses, and the humor is akin to a brat gleefully defacing a Hallmark card; however, Mr. Goode's inventiveness soon darkens with accusations and counter-accusations over sexual abuse --- the jury is still out as to whether Mr. Goode's intention is to disarm you, at first, with comedy and then grip you with tragedy or whether he began in one corner and painted himself into another. Either way, THE EIGHT: REINDEER MONOLOGUES is challenging holiday fare and, not surprisingly, all proceeds from the show will be donated to the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC) --- thus, you can have an offbeat night of theatre and contribute to a noble cause...

Despite its subject matter, the X-Mas Project production closes the year with a golden --- no! sterling! --- ensemble, composed mostly of Zeitgeist Stage regulars, and beautifully blended into a whole by Jackie Davis; I have been told that this weekend is already sold out so you'd best order your tickets, sooner, in order to have them, later.