Audio By Carbonatix
It’s that time of year when every stage in town begins to haul out its treacly family-friendly holiday fare, which is nice…but maybe redundant. Fa la la la la, ho-humbug. If yet another round of A Christmas Carol or It’s a Wonderful Life doesn’t put the schnapps in your hot chocolate, there are some lighthearted alternatives. One of the most enduring is BALLS! A Holiday Spectacular, a once-a-year Christmas cabaret and fundraiser, now in its fifth incarnation, put on by fun folks GerRee Hinshaw, Melanie Owen, Jim Ruberto and Mare Trevathan. It’s kind of a party with a stage, where people tell stories, compose silly holiday haiku and and lead the audience in a sock-puppet sing-along.
“The real stars are the sock puppets,” says Owen. “We’ve made one for every member of the audience to adopt during the show. It’s amazing how willing people are to belt out ‘Mele Kalikimaka’ with us if they can do it with their sock puppet.” Additional entertainment includes music by John Common and Jess DeNicola, comedy with Matt Monroe and Shayna Ferm, juggling from Reid Belstock, and laughs with Lannie’s house MC Naughty Pierre.
:Wiggle your fingers and join the fray tonight or tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Lannie’s Clocktower Cabaret, 1601 Arapahoe Street. Tickets are $18 in advance at lannies.com or $22 at the door; this year’s proceeds benefit the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault. For details, go to ballsaholidayspectacular.com.
Sun., Dec. 1, 7 p.m.; Mon., Dec. 2, 7 p.m., 2013
