‘Santa’s Big Red Sack’ turns 21

Rattlebrain’s comedy sketch show delivers the yuletide laughs

Is nothing sacred anymore? According to Rattlebrain Productions, the answer is an emphatic NO! To that end, currently playing at The People’s Building on East Colfax is Rattlebrain’s 21^st annual production of Santa’s Big Red Sack. The sketch show skewers everything about Christmas and the holiday season. The talented ensemble of four performers, under the laugh-filled direction of Dave Shirley, presents a dozen sketches lampooning everything from a simple reading of “The Night Before Christmas,” to cooking (and devouring) a gingerbread man.

The production is written by and stars Dave Shirley, Jane Shirley, Eric Mather, and Chris Woolf all playing various characters in a side-splitting two hours of sketch comedy.

Each of the 12 scenes are self-contained gems combining current events along with ridiculous “what if” scenarios.  “Santa Vigil” includes Mather as anchorman Tom Brokaw on the lookout for a missing Santa Claus along with his Homesick Correspondent played by Jane. She is hilarious as she broadcasts from various less-than-ideal live locations around the world and always reminds her viewing audience that she could easily be broadcasting from the comfort of her hometown Chicago.

Another highlight is the sketch “Sweet Gingerbread Man” with Mather (Gingerbread Man), Woolf, and Jane happily preparing a life-size singing and dancing gingerbread man who comes alive during the process. Before long, the gingerbread man is baked and then devoured by an young boy who delights in torturing the cookie while on its way to being his snack.

Ten additional deliriously funny sketches capture everything from inept bell ringers to Jesus (Woolf) holding a press conference. In another sketch, Dave is a scream as Bob Cratchit in the scene that fundamentally rewrites the telling of “A Christmas Carol.” The audience was shrieking with laughter during this sketch, with Woolf playing young Tiny Tim from the confines of a wagon.

Dave Shirley directed this production with the true gift of comedic timing — fast-paced with barely a break to breathe. No comic stone is left unturned, and each sketch builds on the previous one with a resounding crescendo of laughter from beginning to end.

Photo: Rattlebrain Productions

There is relatively little scenery involved, however, costumes and props add the appropriate level of imagination-evoked identification. Of special note is the large projection wall at the rear of the stage produced by Dave Shirley. The projections provide a clean, crisp way to establish the location of a scene as well as being used to project snippets of the scenes playing out on stage.

This is the twenty-first year of such unbridled holiday merriment offered by Rattlebrain Productions. Worthy of a trip to The People’s Building, Santa’s Big Red Sack is proof that sketch comedy is alive and well and here for our yuletide enjoyment.