GREENFIELD — The holidays can be stressful.
Especially when there’s a burglar dressed as Santa Claus, blundered hypnotisms and chases around the living room couch.
That and more collide in CrazyLake Acting Company’s production of “Sorry! Wrong Chimney!” coming to the H.J. Ricks Centre for the Arts in downtown Greenfield the two weekends ahead of Christmas.
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Newlywed David Tuttle (Luke Agee) is moonlighting as a department store Santa so he can afford to buy his wife Samantha (Ali Kern) a fur for Christmas. He tells her he’s working late at the office, but Samantha suspects her neighbor Natalie (Stephani McDole) is ‘the other woman.’ Samantha enlists Natalie’s psychiatrist husband (Corey Yeaman) in a plot to get David to love her again. But when the notorious Santa burglar Kris Kreigle (Trever Brown) and his gun-toting fiancée (Chris Vehorn) show up, it’s up to the confused policeman (Coy Hutcherson) to sort it all out.
McDole, who called her character, Natalie, a brassy and nosy neighbor, said the show has a fast pace with plenty of chaos.
“A lot of theaters go with the classics — ‘A Christmas Carol,’ stuff like that,” McDole said. “And that’s fun for the whole family; this is fun for the more mature crowd. It’s got a little bit more of the older (crowd) content and it’s a lot funnier than the classic Christmas shows you’d go see.”
Hutcherson said his character is a veteran beat cop whose straight-laced demeanor gets tested as he engages in antics while under hypnosis. He echoed McDole’s thoughts on the play’s originality.
“It’s different from your standard Christmas play,” Hutcherson said. “It’s hilarious. The cast is really good. It’s funny, it’s different; but I think people still get the warm feeling of Christmas. You want the warmth of Christmas mixed with just some good, funny, old-fashioned comedy? I think you get the best of both worlds. And it’s right in Greenfield.”
Kern said she enjoys playing Samantha because of the way she develops into a wittier, funnier woman by the end of the story. She also described the upcoming production as a perfect date night activity.
“It’s just a feel-good comedy that people can come see during the holidays,” Kern said.
Vehorn, who plays Sheila, dons an elf costume and Brooklyn accent for the production.
“It’s a little bit crazy; it’s a little bit zany; I think it’s a good way to get yourself in the mood for the holidays,” she said.
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WHAT: "Sorry Wrong Chimney!"
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday Dec. 13, 14 and 20 through 22
WHERE: H.J. Ricks Centre for the Arts, 122 W. Main St., Greenfield
TICKETS: $10 (plus fee) at crazylakeacting.com, $12 at door
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