Audacious Immersive takes advantage of local breweries for their annual Dickensian bash
For those who like a good beer and are ready for a lighter take on A Christmas Carol, it’s hard to beat a round or two (or three or four) with the rowdy bunch serving up Drunk Christmas again this year. An annual holiday fundraiser put on by Audacious Immersive, the premise is simple: It’s Dickens, drunk. And that means setting up an impromptu stage area in the middle of a brewery while audience members gather ‘round and enjoy available libations while the cast really enjoys them.
Audacious Artistic Director Ren Manley is the ringleader here, playing emcee as well as several other parts as she pounded cup after cup of Odell’s on opening night Friday. By the time the abbreviated (just under an hour) version of the Dickens classic wound down, she and the rest of the cast were extremely well-oiled — so much so that I was getting worried for Ren as she continued jumping up on the props trunk in the center of the performance area.
Macbeth Richardson as Scrooge was matching her sip for sip, reeling through the lines with a tall can of Sippin’ Pretty glued to her hand. Indeed, for most of the cast there’s no leaving their cup on a table and drinking from it occasionally. Drunk Christmas requires total tippling commitment on the part of the actors, so best to keep drink in hand at all times and not worry too much about the sloshing onto the floor.
In the spirit of a Rocky Horror shadow cast, some ticketholder got goody bags with props like bells to ring, confetti to toss and some printed lines to yell out. Along with paid/reserved seats, there’s also a pay-as-you-can option, space available, and toward the end the cast passes hats for donations. It’s all a tremendous amount of fun, especially as we observe first-hand and closeup the effects of alcohol on an actor’s ability to recall lines. If one is dropped, another actor who recalls it may just yell it out to the other, or filler words can be substituted for those forgotten. (Manley’s approach later in the show was to liberally insert F-bombs here and there.)
Since I first saw Drunk Christmas in 2019, the production values have improved a good deal. The costumes were quite good — particularly the one for Christmas Future — and despite the growing disorder built in from the drinking, the cast did a nice job working their way back and forth through the crowd for their entrances and exits. Depending on which night you go, you might see different casts. On opening night at Odell’s, Manley and Richardson were joined by Rachel Lowman as Bob Cratchit, Lauren Long as Belle and Joaquin Liebert as Marley and Tiny Time. There’s also a narrator to fill in the gaps, and Liz Porter filled this role opening night while also stepping into the Future Ghost costume.
There are only a handful of shows left and tickets selling fast, so if you want to kick off the holiday season with many cups of cheer, get thee to the Audacious website to snag a spot!
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