‘A Christmas Cactus’ features a strong cast in a different kind of show for the season
Wheat Ridge Theatre Company’s holiday show this year is A Christmas Cactus. Written by Eliot Byerrum and directed by Maru Garcia, executive producer of Wheat Ridge Theatre Company, A Christmas Cactus is not your typical Christmas show, but still captures the spirit of the holiday season.
The play is named for private investigator Cactus O’Reilly (Lauren Russell), who is currently having a tough time dealing with life in general, let alone the stresses of Christmas. She is preoccupied on various levels — including luring her secretary Fred (Steven Hartman) away from his overbearing mother Adelaide (Darlene Grandby) and dodging the affections of Deputy D.A. Windsor (Daniel Mothershed). She’s also contemplating closing her business for good. In come two fugitives Neville Smedley (Jeamus Wilkes) and Ramon Ramirez (Bryan Alexis Sanchez) who are looking for justice and the former owner of the office space that Cactus now occupies.
The plot moves quickly, with various clues being unearthed by the perceptive O’Reilly in what is set up as a Christmas murder mystery party for the sake of Adelaide. Eventually, the entire roster of characters is present on stage in a collaborative effort to prove Smedley’s innocence and help reunite Ramirez with his bride. And of course, there is a happy ending that frees all characters from the shackles that bound them at the beginning of the play.
Wheat Ridge Theatre Company always finds strong acting talent for their productions, and A Cactus Christmas is no exception. Leading the cast is Russell as Cactus in a strong, methodical performance that easily holds our focus throughout the play. She is believable as the eagle-eyed sleuth who eventually uncovers the necessary clues to help solve the mystery. Another standout is Grandby as Adelaide. Fred’s domineering mother, she shatters the action by unexpectedly showing up at the office and causing a reconfiguration of the action at hand. Grandby is comedically gifted and doesn’t miss an opportunity to move the needle on laughs.
Both Wilkes, as Smedley, and Sanchez as Ramirez, are excellent as the threatening thugs early on and finally as the desperate scofflaws in need of all the help they can get. Both men are regulars with Wheat Ridge Theatre Company with Wilkes recently appearing as the lead in Sherlock Holmes, The Case of Alice Faulkner. Ramirez has risen through the ranks from Zorro, the Musical to Sherlock Holmes, The Case of Alice Faulkner with a great deal of promise as an exceptional actor.
As directed by Maru Garcia, A Christmas Cactus moves swiftly from beginning to end. She has punctuated all the right clues to help the audience realize their understanding of “who did what to whom” as the mystery unfolds. The odd-shaped stage could add sightline problems, but not in this case. If Wheat Ridge Theatre has one thing to address, it’s the lighting. In several shows I’ve seen there, all had problems with fully lighting the stage.
Not your typical holiday fare, A Christmas Cactus is a unique mix of yuletide spirit and that of a mystery waiting to unfold. Wheat Ridge Theatre Company is showing some moxie in moving off-center this holiday season by presenting something markedly different that’s quite enjoyable.
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