A Nice Family Christmas Unwraps a Lot, is This Very Funny Holiday Show at Lyric Arts

Kathleen Winters, Anthony Zadra, Lyreshia Ghostlon-Green, Lori Constable Photo by Molly Jay

A Nice Family Christmas? They should probably call it A Very Dysfunctional Family Christmas, but maybe that’s a little too on the nose. Still, “nice” feels a bit disingenuous. Funny? Yes! Delightful? Absolutely! Nice? Not on your life. Like all holiday stories about families, we get the ugly, the humorous dysfunction, but also, beneath it all, something genuinely good. After all, what is a Christmas story if not an opportunity for redemption, healing, forgiveness, and reconnecting with the people who drive us crazy?

Set in Minnesota, the play takes place on Christmas Eve in Mom’s condo, where her three grown children arrive to find Grandma there unexpectedly from Florida… and then their very unwanted Uncle Bob barges in as well. The three siblings, who barely seem to speak to each other, are all in relationships that are teetering on various precarious edges. Over the course of the evening, secrets will come out, Grandma will deliver approximately 237 inappropriate comments, and yes, everyone will grow a little. But mostly? The audience will laugh their butts off.

It’s hard to imagine anyone who won’t relate to something in this show. A family dynamic, a tradition, an awkward secret, a chaotic holiday memory, or a rogue Uncle Bob. You’ll spot a piece of your own life somewhere in the mix. At times it almost feels like a modern TV comedy—one of the good ones, not something from the late ’80s. Add a dash of The Golden Girls and you’re in the ballpark. Grandma, in particular, channels major Sophia energy, firing off one-liners like she’s got a writers’ room in her purse.

It’s funny, usually when I leave a show, I’ll think, “I wish this person had seen that.” But for the first time I walked out thinking, “I wish I’d seen this with my brother and sisters.” I think we would’ve had a blast, and dinner afterward would’ve been even more entertaining.

Performance wise, Grandma and Uncle Bob are such wildly outrageous characters that you can’t help but love them. Kathleen Winters and Anthony Zadra have fantastic timing and fully commit to the eccentricities of their characters. I most identified with Carl, the middle child, he’s a writer, not for anything as prestigious as The Stages of MN, but for the Star Tribune. I especially related to the moment when his Mom and Grandma come to see who arrived and are visibly disappointed that it’s him and not his brother Michael. Patrick Kozicky does wonderful work as one of the few semi normal humans in this family, and even when he isn’t the focus of a scene, his reactions land perfectly.

Giving him solid competition in the “closest to normal” category is Lyreshia Ghostlon-Green as his sister Stacy. It’s probably the most under written role in the script, but Ghostlon-Green adds more to the role than she’s given on the page. As Michael and his wife Jill, Sam Sweere and Waverly Ann McCollum deliver hilariously physical performances. When Michael needs to make amends with a member of his family, his discomfort at doing so doesn’t just seep into the rest of his body it floods like a busted dam. His wife is a tsunami of hormonal hysteria due to fertility hormones she is on, It’s a lot and it’s hilarious.

Lori Constable masterfully plays Mom, nailing every aspect of the character’s many roles. She’s the one caught in the middle, put upon, the peacemaker, and ultimately the glue that holds the entire family together.

Phil Olson’s script (he’s a Minnesota native) is genuinely funny. While it doesn’t tug too hard on the heartstrings, the characters do grow, and we arrive at a very nice ending. I’m now curious about his companion play, A Nice Family Gathering. I’d love to see Lyric Arts bring it to the stage next season with the same cast.

A Nice Family Christmas runs through 12/21 at Lyric Arts in Anoka.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit: https://www.lyricarts.org/nice-family-christmas

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The Stages of MN Holiday Preview On Episode 21!

Episode 21 of the YouTube show is up. It’s our Holiday Preview episode featuring four shows from sponsoring theater companies. You can view the episode here https://bit.ly/TSOMNEp21YouTube or listen to the podcast version here https://bit.ly/TSOMNEp21Podcast

But if you don’t have time right now here’s a quick glance at the four holiday shows.

A young city executive is compelled to spend the holidays in Snowberry Falls, a town with an unreasonable obsession with winter cheer and one diva goat. She soon discovers that she might find more than just holiday happiness. Mistletoe & Mayhem from Just Us Theater runs from November 28th to December 14th at the Phoenix Theater in Uptown. Click her to purchase tickets https://mistletoe-mayhem.com/

A gust of icy wind changes everything! Follow St. Paul’s own Clarence “Cap” Wigington and his wife Viola as their Winter Carnival ice palace design plunges them into the magical realm of King Boreas. They’ll encounter iconic Minnesota figures, from bygone poets to racing legends, all woven into the vibrant tapestry of the Carnival’s myth and history. Discover the strange, wonderful heart of a tradition built on resilience, imagination, and the enduring spirit of our snowy state. Rollicking! a Winter carnival Musical runs through December 21st at History Theatre in St Paul. Click here for tickets https://www.historytheatre.com/2025-2026/rollicking-winter-carnival-musical

When a Christmas Eve snowstorm strands the entire cast of A Christmas Carol, married couple and stage managers Sarah and Charlie are left with no choice but to perform the whole show themselves! What starts as a disaster quickly turns into a hilarious holiday adventure as the two scramble through costume changes, forgotten lines, and dozens of roles—from Ebenezer Scrooge and Bob Cratchit to the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. A Christmas Carol…More or Less runs from November 28th to December 28th at Yellow Tree Theatre in Osseo. For Tickets click here https://yellowtreetheatre.com/christmascarol

It’s Christmas in the Everglades again as NNT begins a new winter tradition by remounting its wildly successful comedy, A Christmas in Ochopee by Montana Cypress. With fry bread, family feuds, and a memorable gator that may or may not hold the spirit of a beloved rez dog, the Weetley family navigates love, and loud uncles under one roof. Full of sharp Native humor, culture, and heart, Cypress brings us a holiday play that speaks to the beauty and chaos of rez life. It’s a Florida Christmas—expect miracles, mess, and maybe a chainsaw or two. A Christmas in Ochopee runs December 3rd to the 21st at 825 Arts in St Paul. Click here for tickets https://www.newnativetheatre.org/a-christmas-in-ochopee

We put together some fun segments for these shows to give you a taste of what they are so I hope you’ll watch the episode. When you do I think you’ll be compelled to seek out each of these shows this holiday season. I hope you will support these theater companies who have generously supported The Stages of MN by sponsoring this episode.

We do also have a review of the Guthrie Theater’s annual production of A Christmas Carol in this episode. that runs through December 28th and you can get tickets here https://www.guthrietheater.org/shows-and-tickets/a-christmas-carol/

My Fair Lady runs through December 28, 2025 at Theater Latté Da in Northeast Minneapolis.
Tickets and info: https://www.latteda.org/my-fair-lady

The Snowy Day from MN Opera at The Ordway

The Snowy Day an adaptation of the classic groundbreaking and award winning children’s book by Ezra Jack Keats make for a simple but sweet Opera. As one might assume given its picture book origin, this is a short opera running a little over an hour. The subject matter and the length make it a great option for people interested in introducing their musically interested children to the art form. The plot follows a young boy named Peter who wakes up to the first snowfall of the season and the ways in which he spends that first snowy day of the season. We follow along as Peter suffers through his parents insistence that he eat breakfast, put on all his warm clothes and snow gear, and worst of all get his face smeared with Vaseline to avoid chapping. The last one was a new one on me, but I assume comes from the book which was published in 1962. Once finally allowed to go outside we see his disappointment at being told he’s too young to join the bigger kids in a snowball fight. Finding a new friend in a young girl named Amy, and with whom he sleds down a hill, makes snow Angels and a snowman. Before returning home with a snowball in his coat pocket. After lights out he discovers to his disappointment that his snowball has melted, he then has a nightmare in which all of the people he encountered that day appear and begin to melt away as well. When he awakens the next day he finds another fresh layer of snow has fallen and prepares for another day of adventures in the snow.

I’m not knowledgeable enough to discuss the performers singing other than to say for me the best vocals were from John Mburu as Peter’s Daddy, his were the vocals I could hear most clearly as well. Raven McMillon who plays Peter, was too soft to be heard much of the time but gave a very charming performance, childlike without being childish. I also really enjoyed the performance of Leah Hawkins as Mama. She plays it with just the right amount of motherly love combined with, don’t you give me that look, motherliness. They even comment of the fact that she has eyes in the back of her head, my Mom had those too! There are moments such as after Peter has left the house and we stay with Mama as she expresses love and protectiveness that seem to tread water for a little too long. But they are few and though the Libretto by Andrea Davis Pinkney is very simple, one assumes drawing directly from the book for the most part, the music by Joel Thompson is lush and enchanting. The scenic design by Amy Rubin emulates faithfully the look and style of Keats’ original illustrations. There are fun touches like the sledding hill and snowballs. While it lacks the detail and grandness of the spectacular designs we saw in Edward Tulane back in 2022, it perfectly matches this material.

The Snowy Day runs through February 16th at The Ordway in St. Paul. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://mnopera.org/season/2024-2025/the-snowy-day/

But that’s not all! You can also read some of my reviews syndicated on the MN Playlist website https://minnesotaplaylist.com/ from time to time. Think I may have steered you wrong on a show? Well, I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), where you can read roundups of shows by m’colleagues and I when you follow us on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers.

Santa’s Surprise Party is, No Surprise, Hilariously Fun at The Hive Collaborative in St. Paul

Santa’s Surprise Party is the party to attend this holiday season. This new show from The Mechanical Division, the brainchild of Ben Thietje and Amanda White formerly of DalekoArts, continues that Theater’s tradition of holiday fun. Directed by White who plays the voice of Jessica Claus and written by Thietje who appears in the cast as an elf named Sandwich. The show takes place at an assembly of the ELFS (Midwest Chapter). While waiting for the meeting to start Mrs. Clause joins the meeting through Microsoft Teams and reminds the Chapter that it’s Santa’s 250th birthday and so far none of the other Chapters has even said happy birthday to Santa. This Chapter is going to be the last meeting and it’s up to them to wish Santa a happy birthday and raise his spirits. Before they can begin to make plans, a human discovers them inside the building without permission. They must use elf magic to keep him from leaving and with his help they plan a surprise party for Santa.

I don’t want to give away the best bits or the surprises in store so I’m going to keep things vague. First off, if you enjoy Christmas at all and love a good laugh, you’ll want to snatch up tickets for the three remaining performances. If the show I was at tonight wasn’t sold out, there couldn’t have been more than one or two seats left. I’ve written before about a game we sometimes play on the drive home from a show called who was your favorite. When you can’t name who was your favorite, it’s either one of two things, no one is any good, or everyone is perfectly cast in their roles. This is the latter. Let’s start with Ben Thietje usually cast as the romantic lead due to his matinee idol looks, completely disappears into the role of Sandwich. He’s the nerdy, not dealing with a full deck, possibly a touch psychotic elf with slicked over hair and glasses with lenses as thick as coke bottles. He’s found the character and never breaks from it whether he’s pushing to burn the human or just in the background ritually touching a Christmas light. He hasn’t the fewest lines but makes the biggest impression. Siri Hellerman plays Bing Bong, the President of the Midwest Chapter of ELFS. She runs the meeting like a pro and knows exactly how to keep control of everyone, but is particularly adept at calming Sandwich down with a sip from a juice box. Hellerman handles such absurd moments so matter of factly that they become even funnier. Nora Sonneborn who really caught my attention earlier in the year in Lyric Arts Production of 9 to 5 proves that notice was well deserved, she has comedic chops and displays once again a really strong singing voice, which I’d like to have had even more of. Bradley Beahen who serves as the Music Director also plays Sprinkles. Beahen whom I’m used to seeing mainly as a Music Director is great in the role and his rendition of “Like a Virgin” but with festive lyrics is a blast. Finally, Patrick Kozicky plays Cole, the human who reluctantly helps them plan the party. Kozicky masterfully captures the human responses to the ridiculousness of the elfs. I loved watching him process the rules to the elf party games like Tinsel and Tickle and Elf or Dare.

Santa’s Surprise Party is everything it needs to be, it has holiday spirit, a touch of darkness, a ton of super silly elf nonsense, and even some great singing. It runs a quick 70 minutes with no intermission so there’s still plenty of time in your evening to get presents wrapped and nog some eggs. It runs through 12/21 at The Hive Collaborative in St. Paul, which if you haven’t been, you’re in for a treat. It’s just about the coziest little theater there is, bring some cash so you can make a donation and enjoy some snacks and beverages. Plus whether you need it or not, visit the furthest restroom, or perhaps I should say the Batroom. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.thehivecollaborativemn.com/events/santas-surprise-party

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Over the River and Through the Woods a Great Script With Fantastic Cast Creates Pure Gold

Mark Rosenwinkle, Melinda Kordich, Julia Ennen, Armando Harlow Ronconi, Kirby Bennett and Gabriele Angieri Photo by Brian Pierce

This was my third time out to Sidekick Theatre in South West Bloomington and my second time enjoying a meal before the show. I know that for some of my colleagues it seems like a bit of a trek for a show, but I’m to the West of the cities and for me this is much closer than going to St. Paul for a show, which I do on a nearly weekly basis. But honestly the reason I’ve come back for the second and third time is not proximity, it’s because I have been thoroughly entertained and indeed impressed with Sidekick Theatre’s offerings. Over the River and Through the Woods is the best show so far and deserves to be seen by everyone. Laugh out loud funny but also touched with moments of sweetness and truth. Characters and situations that everyone can identify with. The humor flows from life not simply one liners and it works it’s way into our hearts because of it.

The script by Joe DiPietro centers on Nick, an unmarried young man who works in the City in marketing, but comes out every Sunday to Hoboken, New Jersey to have dinner with his maternal and paternal grandparents. As the play opens Nick has uncharacteristically come out on a Thursday because he has something to tell the grandparents. We must be 15 minutes into the play before Nick can get out his announcement, though he’s trying to do so from the moment he walks into the house. The announcement that he has been offered a promotion at work comes with the catch that if he accepts it he will need to move to Seattle. Why does it take so long, because none of them listen to him, his Grandma Aida tries to push food on him non stop throughout the entire run of the play, when Grandma Emma and Grandpa Nunzio arrive he informs the audience that they are the two loudest people he has ever known. Throughout the play the characters break the fourth wall and address the audience directly. Much of the humor, and of humor there is much, comes from Nick’s frustrations in dealing with his Grandparents, whether it’s trying to share news or playing Trivial Pursuit. The humor is character based, the best kind, the type that builds and provides avenues for call backs. It is also full of universal beats that ring true to the audience.

The script is well written to be sure but the cast really make it feel authentic. It’s about growing up and growing older, it’s about family that drives you crazy but that you also love dearly. It is a comedy, but a comedy about characters that you laugh at but also grow to connect and even love. And so it isn’t just about laughs, it also contains moments of sweetness and melancholy. And those only come because we have grown to love these characters and that is thanks to the amazing cast. Armando Harlow Ronconi plays Nick and his performance is built as much on his reactions to the other performers as on what he says and how. He has a gift for portraying frustration and incredulity without every overdoing it, every reaction is perfectly calibrated to find the balance between comic effect and keeping the character grounded in a reality. Kirby Bennett as Grandma Aida finds ways of pushing food on Nick constantly without it ever falling into a repetitive comedic routine. Instead, she finds a way to internalized this repeated action into the core of her character. Mark Rosenwinkel as Grandpa Frank, Gabriele Angieri as Grandpa Nunzio, and Melinda Kordich as Grandma Emma all work together so organically that you feel as if they really have lived next to each other for 50 years. They are remarkably gifted at talking over each other, creating a cacophony of voices through which Nick has to try and navigate and yet which the audience is able to follow word for word. Finally Julia Ennen plays Caitlin, the young woman the Grandparents invite to dinner without telling Nick, hoping he’ll fall in love with her and decide not to move away.

Over the River and Through the Woods runs through November 3rd at Sidekick Theatre in Bloomington for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://sidekicktheatre.com/about-the-show-over-river I highly recommend purchasing the optional meal before the show, I’ve found both the weekend brunch and the weekday lunch options to be delicious. It’s always nice when there is something extra like that to make a trip to the theater a little extra special.