Reality Elves

Amid the relentless commercial onslaught of the holiday season, it can be hard to find a middle ground between advertiser-approved sentimental treacle and sneering hipster cynicism. And while the Bovine Metropolis Theater holiday production Real Housewives of the North Pole would seem to lean toward the latter, director Eric Farone...

By Jef Otte

December 16, 2010

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Amid the relentless commercial onslaught of the holiday season, it can be hard to find a middle ground between advertiser-approved sentimental treacle and sneering hipster cynicism. And while the Bovine Metropolis Theater holiday production Real Housewives of the North Pole would seem to lean toward the latter, director Eric Farone says the improv troupe aims for balance: “You have traditional Christmas fare and then you have modern, bitter, jaded Christmas fare,” he reflects. “This is just kind of a contemporary look at Christmas without being bitter and jaded.”

The sketch show loosely follows the exploits of three housewife elves -- “One is promiscuous; one tries to be nice, but her meanness comes out; and one’s just too tall,” Farone says -- and throws in a number of non-related-but-Christmas-themed sketches and parody mash-up songs along the way. That last category, by the way, includes a cover of Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” that subs in the lyrics to the popular hymn “Emmanuel.” “They fit perfectly,” notes Farone. “It’s actually a little disturbing.”

The show opens tonight at 8 p.m. at Bovine, 1527 Champa Street, and runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. through December 18. For showtimes and tickets, $16, call 303-758-4722 or visit www.bovinemetropolis.com.
Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Wed., Dec. 22, 8 p.m.; Thu., Dec. 23, 8 p.m. Starts: Nov. 26. Continues through Dec. 18, 2010

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