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ImageThere will be many holiday parties to attend this year, but none like the one Brian Dykstra is hosting at the Kitchen Theatre. Dykstra`s new one-man show, HO!, is an irreverent, funny play and a perfect antidote to saccharine holiday specials. The evening includes a holiday party with food, drink, entertainment, and a Kitchen Theatre bazaar of theatrical gifts and stocking stuffers for purchase. This world premiere production is running December 9 through 20.

HO! is centered around two original holiday stories written and performed by Brian Dykstra. In the first, he turns the typical children`s holiday story on its head in a Dykstra-style poem about the commercialization of Christmas, in which even Santa Claus gets caught up in the greed. This is not likely to be the next Hallmark holiday special, but it certainly will make fans of holiday satire and devotees of dancing sugarplums unite in laughter.  

Intermission is when the party gets into full swing. The Kitchen Theatre bazaar will offer a wide variety of gifts, including exciting clothing and scenic elements from the Kitchen Theatre collection, and all proceeds will support programming at the Kitchen. Enjoy holiday music and wait under the mistletoe while schmoozing and noshing with Dykstra.

The performance continues with   Dykstra`s story Sammy the Tree. This charming tale of a Vermont Christmas tree in the big city shows the softer side of Brian Dykstra; just as the Grinch’s heart grew three sizes one night, so does Dykstra’s sentimentality. HO! is a cross between How the Grinch Stole Christmas and David Sedaris’s SantaLand Diaries, with Dykstra’s ingenious wordplay and high energy flare.   

A true veteran of the Kitchen Theatre stage, Dykstra has had five of his original works produced here: THE JESUS FACTOR, CLEAN ALTERNATIVES, A PLAY ON WORDS, STRANGERHORSE, and THE TWO OF YOU. He also received popular and critical acclaim for his performance in the KTC’s 2007 production of David Wiltse’s A MARRIAGE MINUET.

Dykstra’s artistic partner and collaborator, NYC-based director Margarett Perry, returns to KTC to direct HO!. Perry has had many successful productions in Ithaca. In addition to directing the five Brian Dykstra plays, she directed A MARRIAGE MINUET, TONY & THE SOPRANO, the 2008 summer revival of THE SOUP COMES LAST, and the recent production of ENTERTAINER’S EULOGY by Darian Dauchan, among others.

So, is HO! a party? Is it a show? The answer is both. HO! is a performance with holiday charm and punch. So, leave the kids at home and come to the Kitchen Theatre for a holiday show and conversation with Brian Dykstra.

For ages 16 and up.

Performance Dates:
Wed., December 9, 2009 at 7:30pm
Thurs., December 10, 2009 at 7:30pm
Fri., December 11, 2009 at 8:00pm
Sat., December 12, 2009 at 8:00pm
Sun., December 13, 2009 at 4:00pm
Sun., December 13, 2009 at 8:00pm
Wed., December 16, 2009 at 7:30pm
Thurs., December 17, 2009 at 7:30pm
Fri., December 18, 2009 at 8:00pm
Sat., December 19, 2009 at 8:00pm
Sun., December 20, 2009 at 4:00pm
Sun., December 20, 2009 at 8:00pm

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