At the Denver Center, ‘Yippee Ki Yay’ dives deep into the most unlikely of Christmas movies
Even after many performances of Yippee Ki Yay – The Die Hard Parody under his belt, Richard Marsh still looked surprised that he was once again doing his one-man show to a full house. I saw the show Dec. 8 at the Denver Center’s Garner Galleria Theatre and was once again reflecting on both the enduring popularity of the Die Hard franchise in its many incarnations and the fact that it’s become a legit part of the Christmas movie cannon.
Really? Die Hard? The 1988 film with Bruce Willis that just happens to take place during a Christmas party at an LA office tower?
No matter, the point is that Marsh is among legions of die-hard Die Hard fans and also of a smaller set of those who’ve done something about it beyond simply rewatching it every yuletide. A British poet by trade, Marsh’s homage is more akin to an epic poem than what I might think of as a lazy parody. Echoing the rocky marriage at the heart of the film, he weaves in personal details about his own marriage — like how the first date with his now-wife was a screening of Die Hard and how his take on the story had ramifications for the success of said marriage.
And though it’s a one-man show, the production has a number of clever touches and perfectly timed sound effects that help maintain the story’s Hollywood action-film pedigree. Marsh may be the only one onstage, but director Hal Chambers, movement director Emma Webb and sound designer Ben Hudson all teamed to create something much more interesting than the typical one-hander.
Marsh weaves all of the plot points and action sequences of the film with a fast-paced series of rhymes that celebrate the source material while adding a reverence that elevates it to canonical material. Is Die Hard destined to be thought of one day alongside The Iliad or Beowulf? Maybe so, suggests Marsh, as he blasts through the 75-minute performance with the knowledge most audience members have seen the movie many times.
Along with depicting the characters in ‘Die Hard,’ Richard Marsh shares some details of his own life. | Photo: Rob Penn
Stylized vocal performance
While Marsh doesn’t attempt spot-on impersonations, his take on Bruce Willis’s John McClane character is devilishly recognizable. He has just as much fun with the Hans Gruber character — the gentleman-terrorist villain played by Alan Rickman in the original. With the help of voice and accent coach Alice White, he also manages American-sounding takes on McClane’s wife, Holly, the gun-shy cop Al, doofus limo driver Argyle along with grunted German lines particularly nasty head-thug Carl.
While calling out some of the more preposterous moments in the film with his clear admiration for it all, Marsh creates a loving parody that’s funny throughout without trying to make every line a zinger. The actor also establishes a chummy rapport with the audience throughout, bringing us into his Die Hard world with a welcoming acknowledgment of shared love of the characters.
The only bad news is that most of the Denver run is sold out, so if you want to snag a seat or two, you don’t need to run across broken glass à la John McClane, but you’ll need to act fast.
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