Sorry to disagree with you RippedMan, but as someone who does see a lot of theater I had a great time, and would recommend this to anyone. Are the sets kind of crappy? Absolutely. I could look past that though, and enjoyed the rest of the production. As far as holiday entertainment goes this beats White Christmas hands down.
The score is very tuneful, if a little generic, but it had me smiling and chuckling with the lyrics. The book does a few cringeworthy jokes (one made by the secretary about being able to drink all the hot chocolate she wants because she's bulimic comes to mind), but even when I was laughing at it, I could appreciate the campy puns. Meehan does throw in a line of self-promotion where Buddy compares himself to Annie with a nice wink to the audience.
The cast seems to be having a blast, and in a show like this that can make all the difference.
This might not sell any tickets on this board when I say this but it reminded me of a mixture of Big, 9 to 5, How to Succeed, Into the Light (truly), with a Subways are for sleeping dance sequence thrown in for good measure. It's about a grown up kid, who invades an office setting and must remind the adults what Christmas/life is all about. Amy Spanger plays the Christa Moore role in Big (she honestly could have performed "Stars, Stars, Stars" and/or "Dancing All the Time" and they would have fit right in). Beth Leavel (in a performance reminiscent of Liza in The Act) and Matthew Gumley are the neglected wife and son of Mark Jacoby. They might be "underused" because we know and like them as actors, but in reality the roles are just the right size for the plot.
I hadn't seen the movie (not a big Will Ferrell fan), and was apprehensive going into the theater, but couldn't have walked out with a bigger smile on my face.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
