The madcap merrymakers of the Reduced Shakespeare Company (RSC) are ready to bring joy to Edmonds with The Ultimate Christmas Show (Abridged) on Dec. 3 at Edmonds Center for the Arts. This funny, festive, and side-splitting send-up of all things holiday includes classic carols to cheesy TV specials—no tinsel is left untangled in this comic celebration of the season.
The scene is set at the Annual Holiday Variety Show and Christmas Pageant at St. Everybody’s Non-Denominational Universalist Church, where all faiths are welcome. But there’s a problem: None of the acts scheduled to perform have arrived, so the three members of the Reduced Shakespeare Company are pressed into service to perform the entire Variety Show and Christmas Pageant by themselves! And of course, hilarity ensues.
Called a “trio of Modern Marx Brothers” by the Boston Herald and “intellectual vaudeville” by the New York Times, the Reduced Shakespeare Company is a touring American comedy troupe that performs fast-paced, seemingly improvisational condensations of big topics.
The company holds the record for the longest running comedies in the history of London’s West End as three of its shows ran in repertory at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus for almost ten years. Known as the “Bad Boys of Abridgment,” the RSC has performed at the White House, Lincoln Center, Off-Broadway, the Kennedy Center, and Montreal’s famed Just For Laughs Festival, as well as touring the UK, Belgium, The Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Singapore, Barbados, Bermuda, Israel, Qatar and Ireland. The Reduced Shakespeare Company is heard frequently on both NPR and the BBC.
Since its pass-the-hat origins in 1981, the RSC has created 10 world-renowned stage shows, two television specials, several failed TV pilots, and numerous radio pieces, all of which have been performed, seen, and heard the world over.
San Diego Theatre World called the show “delightfully twisted holiday cheer,” adding, “Christmas will never be the same once you share the holiday with the inspired lunacy of the masters of condensing the classics — the Reduced Shakespeare Company.”
Join us on Dec. 3 for an evening of festive, funny, physical fun as these Three Wise Guys send up and celebrate your favorite winter holiday traditions. You can even bring a wrapped Christmas gift valued at $5 or less to participate in the audience gift exchange.
Let the RSC rekindle the joy, inner child and familial dysfunction inside us all!
CONTENT ADVISORY: In the spirit of Shakespeare’s comedies, RSC shows contain comic depictions of violence, mild innuendo, bawdy language, and the occasional rude word. All children (and parents) are different, so they’ve chosen to rate their shows PG-13: Pretty Good If You’re Thirteen.
Looking for more holiday magic?
Visit ec4arts.org to find more performances and community events celebrating the season, such as A Celtic Christmas with The Gothard Sisters, Cascade Symphony Orchestra’s Holiday Pops, Grand Kyiv Ballet’s Snow White, and more!
Explore ECA’s full lineup of entertainment on our website, or connect with us by visiting, calling, or emailing the ECA Box Office. Located at 410 4th Ave. N., the box office is open noon-5 p.m. on weekdays, with extended hours on performance nights. Reach us at boxoffice@ec4arts.org or 425-275-9595. Discounts are available at all ECA-presented shows for seniors, students, and military members.
Funded in part by the City of Edmonds Tourism Promotional Fund
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