Show Summary

Three actors play 23 roles in the gayest Christmas show you'll see this year!

A new quick-change, cross-dressing version of the Dickens classic, set in a Victorian music hall. "The clever pleasures of Scrooge in Rouge are abundant, varied, risque and virtually nonstop. It is uproarious entertainment; a brilliantly constructed funhouse that works on so many levels... It plays giddy games of gender, identity, reality and theatricality, all within the framework of the music hall...There's a wonderfully unnecessary seaside number, for no reason other than it was obligatory music hall fare. And there is a new Tiny Tim every night! - The Times Picayune (from the world premiere in New Orleans last Christmas season).

Creative Team

Tony Houck	Rick Shaffer	Kim Strassburger	Eric Vest

Press Photos

Pictured: (l-r) Kim Strassburger, Tony Houck and Eric Vest from Scrooge in Rouge. Photo credit: Ken Jacques.	Pictured: (l-r) Eric Vest and Tony Houck from Scrooge in Rouge. Photo credit: Ken Jacques.
ictured: (l-r) Eric Vest, Kim Strassburger and Tony Houck from Scrooge in Rouge. Photo credit: Ken Jacques.	Pictured: (l-r) Eric Vest, Kim Strassburger and Tony Houck from Scrooge in Rouge. Photo credit: Ken Jacques.
Pictured: (l-r) Tony Houck, Eric Vest, Rick Shaffer and Kim Strassburger from Scrooge in Rouge. Photo credit: Ken Jacques.

Press Release

Diversionary presents west coast premiere of “Scrooge in Rouge”
Three actors play 23 roles in the gayest Christmas show you’ll see this year!

Diversionary Theatre’s third production of the 2008-2009 season is the new holiday show Scrooge in Rouge – A British Music Hall Christmas Carol, a quick-change, cross-dressing version of the Dickens classic, set in a Victorian music hall where three actors play 23 roles! Running November 20-December 21, Diversionary will present the West Coast Premiere of the show which was created last holiday season in New Orleans. Directed by Rayme Sciaroni, with costumes by Jennifer Brawn Gittings, the cast features Eric Vest, Kim Srassburger, Tony Houck and Rick Shaffer at the piano.

“One of our board members saw the show while visiting New Orleans last year,” said Diversionary’s Executive & Artistic Director Dan Kirsch. “We loved the clever take on a well-known classic, and that ‘there’s a new Tiny Tim every night!’” The show was created by a company of actors at the cabaret Le Chat Noir, with book and lyrics by Ricky Graham, additional material by Jeffrey Roberson (aka Varla Jean Merman), other interesting bits by Yvette Hargis and original music composed by Jefferson Turner.

The Times Picayune wrote “The clever pleasures of Scrooge in Rouge are abundant, varied, risque and virtually nonstop. It is uproarious entertainment; a brilliantly constructed funhouse that works on so many levels… It plays giddy games of gender, identity, reality and theatricality, all within the framework of the music hall… There's a wonderfully unnecessary seaside number, for no reason other than it was obligatory music hall fare.”

A silly send-up for the entire family, Scrooge in Rouge is a Victorian-era music hall version of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," in which 17 members of the Royal Music Hall 20-Member Variety Players have taken ill, leaving only Charlie Schmaltz, an animated character actor; Lottie Obligato, an Amazonian soubrette; and Vesta Virile, male impersonator extraordinaire, to play and sing all the male and female parts in the show. The Gambit Weekly wrote, “Though we tend to associate this type of gender bending with our confused, postmodern world, it actually has a history on the stage that reaches back to music hall entertainment and beyond.”

Rayme Sciaroni will be both director and musical director. Rayme wrote the music and lyrics for Diversionary’s The Daddy Machine in January, which he also co-directed. Eric Vest last appeared with Diversionary as Howard Crabtree in When Pigs Fly. Tony Houck appeared in the hit summer musical Yank! at Diversionary. Kim Strassburger appeared recently with ion Theatre and Cygnet Theatre and makes her Diversionary debut. Rick Shaffer has worked on musicals with Diversionary, Compass Theatre, Scripps Ranch Theatre and Lamplighters.

Started in 1986, the mission of Diversionary Theatre is to produce plays with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender themes that portray characters in their complexity and diversity both historically and contemporarily.

Scrooge in Rouge – A British Music Hall Christmas Carol will preview on November 20 and 21, and open on Saturday, November 22 and run through Sunday, December 21. Performance times are: Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday & Saturday at 8:00pm, Sunday at 2:00 & 7:00pm, and a Monday, December 8 performance at 7:30pm. Single tickets, priced $31-$35 with discounts for seniors, students and military, are now on sale. For information, call the Diversionary box office at 619.220.0097.

Reviews

SAN DIEGO THEATRE SCENE
"CURTAIN CALLS" #267
By Pat Launer
www.sdtheatrescene.com
11/28/08

Innuendo (and out the other)

THE SHOW: Scrooge in Rouge – A British Music Hall Christmas Carol, which was created by a company of actors at the New Orleans cabaret, Le Chat Noir. Book and lyrics by Ricky Graham, additional material by Jeffrey Roberson and Yvette Hargis, and original music composed by Jefferson Turner. At Diversionary Theatre, Rayme Sciaroni served as director and musical director.

THE BACKSTORY: The Victorian Music Hall was at its heyday in the mid-19th century, around 1850-60 (Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” was written in 1843). The vaudevillian shows featured variety entertainment, a mixture of rousing popular songs, comedy and speciality acts.

THE STORY: Most of the 20-member Variety Players of the Royal Music Hall have taken sick with “a nasty case of food poisoning” brought on by one of the ‘surviving’ cast-members. Only three remain to put on their scheduled holiday show: the lively character actor Charlie Schmaltz; Lottie Obligato, an oversized soprano/soubrette; and Vesta Virile, a spunky male impersonator destined to play Scrooge. Among them, they take on some 23 roles and don innumerable costumes, to enact “A Christmas Carol,” enlisting someone from the audience to play Tiny Tim (all they have to do is sit there, and say ‘God Bless Us, Every One’). It’s a giddy gender-bender showcase for the actors, who endure costume and technical malfunctions while stealing focus, chewing scenery and kvetching (“I wish I could get special effects on my speeches”). In other words, there’s as much melodrama in the company as in the story.

THE PLAYERS/THE PRODUCTION: In order to get the full entertainment value of this goofy, silly, over-the-top show, you have to check your intellect at the door and leave all analytical thinking at home. The actors are talented, energetic and hard-working. The puns are excruciating. The sexual innuendo mounts up atop the double entendres. The performances are high-octane, sweat-heavy and impressive. Eric Vest is adorably clownish, with his plaid suspendered pants and giant-size smile. Kim Strassburger is bumbling and nasty and funny and game throughout. And Tony Houck is flat-out terrific, with a stunning voice (both high and low) and great physical comedy. Jennifer Brawn Gittings’ outrageous, quick-change costumes (the Tiny Tim getup is wild!) are only outdone by Peter Herman’s flamboyant wigs and hats. Whatta team!

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Pat Launer’s Center Stage
KSDS Radio
November 28, 2008

“Xanadu” – La Jolla Playhouse, “Scrooge in Rouge” – Diversionary Theatre & “U.S. Drag” – ion theatre

Tis the season to be silly. Times are tough, the news just keeps getting worse; you might as well escape completely. And have I got the shows for you!

Remember “Xanadu,” the movie? That 1980 classic that was, perhaps, one of the worst films ever made? Gene Kelly on roller skates? -- What were they thinking! Even Olivia Newton-John said she cringes whenever she watches the film. Well, it’s back -- as a musical, that riffs on every cheesy element of the original. First, you might recall, there’s the Muse and her sister Muses (some of whom are played by men here). She springs to life to help a struggling artist create the apotheosis of art: a roller disco. You thought it couldn’t get any more preposterous? Think again, my friend!

Playwright Douglas Carter Beane and director Christopher Ashley are spoofing everything from the Greek gods to “Clash of the Titans,” from Newton-John to Medusa, from the artlessness of the ‘80s to the airheadedness of Venice Beach, to (gasp!) theater itself. The choreography spans the centuries, but leg-warmers trump all. The music remains the same, those “Mamma Mia”-like, can’t-get-‘em-outta-your-head Electric Light Orchestra classics like “Strange Magic,” “Evil Woman” and the timeless title tune. Plenty of mirror-balls on hand for atmosphere. It’s so outlsnfidh you have to laugh. Jaded New York critics and audiences raved, and the show was nominated for a Best Musical Tony Award. Now Ashley, artistic director of the La Jolla Playhouse, gives us a first crack at it, before this production goes off on national tour. So put on your sweatband, leave your mind at home, and go.

Or, head to Hillcrest for “Scrooge in Rouge,” where ‘don we now our gay apparel’ takes on a whole new meaning. Diversionary Theatre transports you to a 19th century English music-hall, with all the slapstick, pratfalls and dreadful puns that entails. Three talented performers (including a man and a woman in drag) play 23 characters in a zillion quick-change costumes, to enact ‘A Christmas Carol,’ like you’ve never seen it. Music and pandemonium abound.

Now, if you like a little more bite in your humor, you won’t want to miss “U.S. Drag,” which finally, has nothing to do with cross-dressing. In this black comedy, two smart but vapid New York chicks desperately seek fame and fortune without any expended effort. They think their quickest route to affluence is to collect the $100,000 reward on a serial killer. Along the way, they meet a pack of pathetic guys. It’s a dark meditation on a few of America’s least savory obsessions, and it’s wonderfully well done at ion theatre, under the excellent direction of Claudio Raygoza.

So, choose your comical poison… and you might just die laughing!

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San Diego Reader
By Jeff Smith
November 2008

Seventeen of the 20 Royal Music Hall Variety Players came down with food poisoning. So the three remaining members of the 19th Century troupe must tackle all the roles in their musical version of A Christmas Carol: the men cross-dressing, on occasion, and Vesta Virile, the famous male impersonator, essaying Scrooge. They'll face a tougher crowd than, say, at the Old Vic. In a music hall everyone was an on-the-spot critic, and usually ale-infested as well. Ricky Graham (book and lyrics) and Jefferson Turner's (music) bawdy homage to the trooper tradition demands precise, spontaneous timing and trained musical voices - for songs with a red-cheeked, pub-like swagger. In the wrong hands, things could go gravely askew. Diversionary Theatre's trio of performers, backed by a game Rick Shaffer on piano, blaze through the material as if to the manner born. There are slow spots, but overall it's a funny, entertaining piece. Kim Strassburger makes Scrooge both a meanie and an on-stage director who must keep the show going (Scrooge is so "tight-fisted, fortune tellers have to read his knuckles"). Eric Vest and Tony Houck handle 20-plus roles with aplomb. Vest emcees with many a groaner (his reactions funniest when a joke nose-dives). Houck sings with an impressively accurate soprano voice (even does coloratura). Scrooge in Rouge is also one of the year's most dazzling fashion shows. Jennifer Brawn Giddings's costumes (and Peter Herman's wigs) not only conjure the Victorian era with precision, many are cartoon-comical - a punch-line without a setup; and, they must be changeable in seconds. Great work!

Worth a try.

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StageSceneLA.com
by Steven Stanley
November 23, 2008

I’ll make a prediction. Scrooge In Rouge is likely to be the funniest, campiest, most delightful, most all-around entertaining Christmas show you’ll be seeing this holiday season.

Though Scrooge In Rouge is the Christmas offering of San Diego’s Diversionary Theatre, the nation’s 3rd oldest LGBT theater, the production is sure to have audiences of any sexual orientation rolling in the aisles. What’s gay about this surprisingly faithful adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is its sensibility, not its subject matter, which makes it not only a great holiday choice for the Diversionary’s core audience but a likely candidate for crossover success as well.

The concept is a simple but outrageous one. Seventeen of the twenty actors performing in a late 19th Century London music hall production of A Christmas Carol have been felled by food poisoning, leaving the remaining three to “go on with the show” and play every character in the Dickens classic.

In the role of Scrooge is London’s “premier male impersonator,” Miss Vesta Virile, and since Scrooge is onstage throughout virtually the entire show, this leaves the remaining dozen or two other characters to be performed by Charlie Schmaltz and Lottie Obbligato, in for the rollercoaster ride of their theatrical lives.

Helming Scrooge In Rouge is director/musical director Rayme Sciaroni, who keeps the pace fast and guides his cast to absolutely splendiferous performances. Kim Strassburger is entirely believable as Vesta, a character based on the real life Vesta Tilley, the most famous and well-paid music hall male impersonator of her day. Strassburger has Scrooge’s manly mannerisms down so pat that one forgets that the role is being played by a woman. Eric Vest is an absolute delight as Schmaltz, who plays most of the other male roles, but gets to try on female drag from time to time. Best of all is adorable Tony Houck (Lottie), giving one of the most memorable musical theater performances of the year, a real life man playing a woman playing not only most of the women’s roles, but also (and here the show gets very Victor Victoria), in several instances a real life man playing a woman playing a man. The mind boggles.

Charlie Schmaltz gets these plum roles:
•Scrooge’s nephew Freddy, a vision in leprechaun green
•Bob Cratchitt, Scrooge’s overworked and underpaid clerk
•Jacob Marley’s ghost, all in gray from his long hair to the chains which “came with the costume”
•The Ghost of Christmas Past, looking like Marie Antoinette crossed with Dame Edna, prompting a castmate to exclaim “Good God, Charlie. You make an ugly woman!”
•Mrs. Fezziwig, sporting a virtual explosion of frizzy red hair
•The Ghost Of Christmas Present (“They call me Oscar cause I’m wild”) in black leotard, lavender coat and color-coordinated pageboy. “Straight from Paris,” he tells Scrooge, to which the incredulous old grouch replies “Straight???”

Lottie Obbligato gets to play the following:
•Charity worker Old Mrs. Piles, who asks not so innocently “D’ya like me muff?” (She’s got her hands in one to stay warm in London’s winter cold
•Scrooge’s sister Fanny, in yellow curls a la Mary Pickford holding (and tossing about) a Cabbage Patch baby Freddy
•Mr. Fezziwig, a red-headed Harpo Marx. Lottie’s explanation for playing a male role? “I’ve had a lot of experience doing men”
•Alice, Scrooge’s penniless girlfriend
•Mrs. Cratchet—pregnant with a baby at each breast
•Freddy’s wife, all sweetnes in pink and white lace

Scrooge In Rouge’s book and lyrics are by Ricky Graham (who originated the role of Charlie last year in New Orleans), with additional material by Jeffrey Roberson (the original Lottie) and “other interesting bits by Yvette Hargis” (the original Vesta). The show’s many one-liners are a scrumptious mix of the corny and the risque. Here are but a few gems:
•“Scrooge was so mean, he sent out Mothers Day cards to orphans.”
•“Calling him stupid would be an insult to stupid people.”
•“Walk this way. (beat) I know the joke’s old but (to the audience) so are you.”
•“Are you a goiter cause you’re a pain in the neck?”
•”Won’t you reach into your trousers and show me how endowed you are?”
•“They’re so poor, they have to put free samples on layaway.”

Two of Scrooge In Rouge’s most hilarious scenes come directly from the play’s central conceit. At one point, all three actors find themselves on stage and realize that they need a Tiny Tim. “Oh shit!” one of them declares. “There’s no one here to play the little bugger.” The only solution is to look for “a latent thezbian” among the audience members. (One of them is ruled out because, states Lottie, “I know him and he is not tiny!”) Later, both Charlie and Lottie show up dressed as housekeeper Mrs. Dilber and as neither is willing to let the other one have the role, both remain on stage and perform the part in unison.

The songs, with lyrics by Graham and music by Jefferson Turner, are an infectious bunch of music hall gems, with a completely “off topic” Act 2 opening seaside number included because what’s a music hall show without a trip to the seaside? All three performers acquit themselves smashingly as vocalists, with a special tip of the hat to Houck’s spot-on mezzo soprano. (At one point, the actor holds a high note longer than one would imagine humanly possible.) Providing marvelous onstage musical accompaniment as Alfred De Capo is Rick Shaffer on piano.

Almost as much the stars of Scrooge In Rouge as the onstage performers are its costumes (by Jennifer Brawn Gittings) and wigs (by Peter Herman), a triumph of imagination in holiday reds and greens. Extra snaps to the evening’s standout wig, a Phyllis Diller do topped with a colorfully lit Christmas tree. Bret Young’s set design puts the audience in a music hall mood from the get go, and the uncredited sound design is a riot, with Queen Victoria’s voice giving the opening announcements, and some deliberately missed cues, as when “a terrible bang” comes out a whinny, leading to Lottie’s “ad lib,” “Sorry, I’m a little hoarse.” Jason Bieber’s lighting is a winner, too, with its numerous multi-coloredspecial effects. Backstage credit is also due to Tom Zohar and Chris Martin for assisting Vest and Houck with their dozens of costume and wig changes and to stage manager Gwen Fish for everything else unseen by the audience.

Once again, with Scrooge In Rouge, Diversionary Theatre proves itself quite possibly the best reason for an Angelino to head down San Diego way, and San Diegans are truly blessed to have this holiday gem in their midst. I’d wager that for many down south, a single visit to this London musical hall will hardly be enough. See Scrooge In Rouge soon, so that you’ll still have time to schedule a return visit.