Theatre Outré to give Didi d’Edada Christmas spirit with a drag interpretation of “A Christmas Carol’

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Even Didi d’Edada need a boost of Christmas spirit.

 Theatre Outré puts their own twist on Charles Dickens’ Christmas classic “A Christmas Carol” as they welcome the family home for the holidays to perform two shows of “ A Very Didi Christmas Carol,” Friday, Nov. 26 and Saturday, Nov. 27 at 7:30 p.m. at Didi’s Playhaus.

 

David Gabert, Tiny Tim and Jay Whitehead are excited to celebrate A Very Didi Christmas Carol. Photo by Richard Amery

“We have a lot of our favourite local actors,” said Theatre Outré  Artistic director Jay Whitehead, who penned the original musical comedy with Kathy Zaborsky, featuring beloved drag performers Didi d’Edada (Jay Whitehead) and Castrati (Kathy Zaborsky) and a lot of Lethbridge drag favourites. Aaron Collier and Richie Wilcox also make an appearance through sound cues.

 

“It’s the whole Club Didi family. We’re workshopping this script with a staged reading for the world premiere,” Whitehead said.

 

“The whole family stops by to give Scrooge character Didi d’Edada the Christmas spirit. Didi’s heart is opened by a Tiny Tim puppet, ” Whitehead said.

 

The 12 member cast includes familiar faces from numerous local theatre groups including New West Theatre, Shakespeare In the Park, Impromptu and Theatre Outré.

 

 Whitehead and Zaborsky will be joined by Cole Olson, Erica Barr, Katie Fellger,  Ashley Thomson,  Deonie Hudson, Jordan Payne, Erica Hunt, David Gabert, Stephanie Wickham and Katrina Violet.

“But there’s costumes and music and decorations,” added Theatre Outré General Manager, David Gabert.

 Whitehead wrote the lyrics and Zaborsky wrote the music for six original songs  for the production.

 

“The songs really  stick in your head. We hope they’ll become Christmas classics,” Whitehead said.

 

“It’s been really lovely collaborating with everybody on this show. Everyone has been so generous with their talent,” Whitehead said.

“It’s fun. It’s definitely a lighthearted approach to ‘A Christmas Carol,” Whitehead said.

 

 “We’re working on mounting a staged production of ‘A Very Didi Christmas Carol. We hope to make it a yearly production,” Gabert said.

Theatre Outré has plenty of fun planned  for the holiday season including another episode of Drunk Improv: Extra Eggnog Edition, Dec. 4;  a cabaret “ The Didi and Castrati Christmas Special,” set for Dec. 11; LQBTQMom Presents; Queer of Fortune,” Dec. 18 and A  Holiday hangover Edition of  Drunk Improv on Jan. 1.

 

“A Very Didi Christmas Carol” show is approximately an hour long. Show time is 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 26 and 27. The Saturday performance will be streamed online for those who still aren’t yet confident to attend live performances.

 Tickets are pay why you can, but must be purchased in advance through www.theatreoutre.ca.

— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor

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