Photo courtesy of Nathanael Showalter
Baltimore’s Special Christmas show this year is “Christmas Special Radio.” Practically a family tradition in Anne Arundel County at the Chesapeake Arts Center, the show heads into its 14th year.
This is a great venue in the heart of the Brooklyn community. There is always something to see from art exhibitions to great musical performances. You can become a member of the center, for more details click here to head to the center’s website.
Well known comedian Spencer Humm returns for the holiday season with hilarious comedy, music and even party games. Braving temperatures in the 30’s I headed out to catch the show on Friday, December 9th. I soon forgot about the chilly air with the warm welcome from staff at the Arts Center, the art exhibition and all the vendors ready to get me in the yuletide spirit.
….ultimate in christmas stress relief, hilarious, corny and a must see….
The set is simple and traditional. The perfectly decorated Christmas tree, the meticulously packed gifts and of course, a radio show wouldn’t be complete with a real radio. The lighting was festive, and it felt like you were sitting in your home – which of course was the aim.
I was sat in a raised balcony area and have to say because of what I assume is a safety requirement I had to bend my head to see under the guard rail to see the show. So avoid this area if you are taller than 5ft 5.
The show aims to take you back to simpler days all set in the style of an old radio production. A reminder when you go to the show, wear your pajamas! I completely forgot, and the truth is I didn’t want to be that person, you know? The one that wears pajamas when one else does. However, I was just one of a few who wearing regular clothes so don’t be bashful. This show is the ultimate in christmas stress relief, hilarious, corny and a must see, put away the credit cards, put on your pi’s grab a glass of milk and enjoy!
Comedian Spencer Humm leads the show with clever humour and some extremely funny lines and scenes. He is also the creator and producer of the show.
The cast of the Christmas players is made up of Louie Skaradek, Nicole Skeely, Jimmy Meritt, and Jack Reda. If I lived the rockstar life and wanted a hilarious crew, this line up would be my entourage. Each player takes on numerous roles on the radio shows which comes at you at full speed in different parts, it’s clever comedy, but don’t worry you don’t have to think too hard to laugh out loud.
One of the most memorable scenes for me is the phone call home scene. We have all been there I am sure, we can’t make it home for Christmas so we make the call to say hello and speak with every member of the family. I can honestly say I missed what followed this scene for about 5 minutes as I was laughing so hard! The comedy while off the wall at times is very relatable, we all have at least one of those relatives in our family. Even the sound effects during this show were laden with hilarity, wrongly timed, none existent or at times not even close to the sound that was attempting to be replicated – it all added to a feel good fun show.
Another great addition to the show is the band, made up of Roger Stewart, Jimmy Davies and Michael Bromery and a featured vocalist Mosno Al-Moseeki. For a small band, their sound was huge! The show kicked off with some Christmas tunes, the band used different arrangements to the classics and it rocked. There were a few sound issues with off balanced sound on mics or microphones not being hot, teething problems. Kudos to Casey Severn for those.
The band did an excellent rendition of several sci-fi favorites with a Christmas flare, the use of sampling and percussion was impressive.
While the cast seemed to follow a script I have a feeling that this show changes each night with more comical additions. According to Humm’s Facebook page, there are guest appearances from various people throughout the run.
Running Time: 2 hours with one 15 minute intermission.
“Christmas Special Radio” runs December 10,11, 16, 17 and 18 at the Chesapeake Arts Center. For ticket info you can check out the website here.
