The familiar gang of In Tandem revelers is back for another run of a Milwaukee Christmas classic, A Cudahy Caroler Christmas. This lively show revolves around a loosely knit plot regarding poor Stasch Zielinski (artistic director Chris Flieller), who attempts to reunite a community choir that disbanded five years ago. Hurtful comments between Stasch and his former best friend, Pee Wee (Nathan Wesselowski), were the main cause of the choir’s break up.
Things are not much better now as Stasch strives to bring the choir back together. Pee Wee and his wife, Edna (Lisa Morris) are divorced but still living in the same house (Pee Wee has made a home in the basement). Furthermore, their teenage daughter, Nellie (Megan Kaminsky) has had a falling out with her mother and now lives in an apartment.
Even worse, one of the former choir members has died, and Stasch needs a replacement. He finds one in Trixie, a shy librarian (Samantha Sostarich) who needs a bit of “Dutch courage” (from a bottle) to be able to perform. Of course, by the end of her show-stopping audition number, she is belting out her songs and performing a modified strip tease for Stasch.
In Act II, we learn that the choir is going to be telecast on local cable TV. During commercial breaks, the choir members rush off the set on various errands and, in the case of Edna and Pee Wee, to rekindle their love for each other.
All of this nonsense is extremely well performed by this polished cast. With one exception, every actor is reprising a familiar role. Chris Flieller, who plays the stout-hearted Stasch, has appeared in almost 300 performances over the years. The company has announced that this is the final year that Chris will appear as Stasch, but one can hardly imagine a finer performer to take his place.
The show’s only newcomer, Jocelyn Ridgely, plays Wanda, the vampy hair salon owner. Sexy and single, she has the hots for Stasch (and basically every other guy in town). Ridgely fits as seamlessly into the cast as she does into Wanda’s form-fitting, low-cut dresses.
The show is a bit naughty, with a few boob and sex jokes thrown in for laughs. But the main feature is the show’s customized lyrics for familiar Christmas tunes, such as “O, Bowling Night” (“O, Holy Night”), and “We T’ree Guys from Cudahy Are” (“We Three Kings”). The tone is set in the opening number, which introduces the cast’s strong voices and tight harmonies. You immediately get the gist of the show when you hear the phrase: “Christmas is here/ Lets have a beer.” More jokes about beer (many, MANY more jokes) are to follow, as well as references to local “delicacies” such as creamed herring, pickled eggs and paczki (pronounced “poonchki,” a type of Polish filled doughnut).
In an exceptionally fine cast, special mention must be made of the dim-witted Nathan Wesselowski as Pee Wee; Megan Kaminsky as Nellie, the young lady who dreams of becoming a water-ski queen; and Nellie’s wanna-be boyfriend, Zeke (Joe Fransee). Judging from the show’s harebrained schemes, one would hardly guess the amount of singing and acting talent that these performers have exhibited in more “serious” productions.
This reviewer has seen this show in several different venues over the years, and the hands-down favorite for “Cudahy Carolers” is its current location, an intimate, 99-seat house. For all its silliness, Milwaukee has a rare gem here; not many shows in town can match this good-humored, seasonal favorite.
