I directed The Eight: Reindeer Monologues at The Chance Theatre in 2004; it was a huge hit, selling out show after show -- they even added performances -- and getting great reviews. The show was such a success that The Chance brought me back to stage it again for 2005. Both productions were nominated for the OC Weekly Award for Best Ensemble; the 2005 production won that award and was also nominated for Best Production of 2005.The Eight: Reindeer Monologues is a play by Jeff Goode, the author of Marley's Ghost and Poona the Fuckdog. Here's the blurb:
Accusations, rumors and all-out attacks are flying fast and furious around Santa’s toyshop this holiday season. What’s the true story behind Rudolph’s unlikely rise to fame? Does Mrs. Claus have a serious drinking problem? Can St. Nick himself really be guilty of sexual harassment... against one of the reindeer? And with all this going on, how can the spirit of Christmas be saved? Go behind the tinsel and hear the truth about Santa straight from the eight reindeer who know him best. When a doe says “No”, she means “No Way, Sucka!”
As the title suggests, the play is a series of eight monologues, one from each of Santa's reindeer. The cast both years was mostly comprised of Chance company members; some seriously talented and very funny actors. We had a lot of fun developing blocking and business for the characters -- Cupid was mixing a drink as he spoke, Dancer was baking cookies -- that grounded the situation, provided opportunities to play with rhythm and pacing, and got some extra laughs while furthering the storytelling. The show was a blast.
winner of the OC Weekly Award for Best Ensemble of 2005
nominated for the OC Weekly Award for Best Production of 2005
nominated for the OC Weekly Award for Best Ensemble of 2004
"spirited, distinct performances ... exquisitely humorous ... things do get intensely serious. Ultimately, Goode is taking on the entire institution of Christmas, and the sobering question he leaves us with is whether this orgy of consumerism might just be an elaborate smoke screen meant to disguise the rapaciously self-centered creatures who’ve concocted a most noble myth for the most ignoble of purposes. Did I mention it’s also really, really funny?"
-OC Weekly (2005)
"director Josh Costello shows his affinity for Goode's stinging humor. A year ago, Costello helmed the Chance staging of "Reindeer," and although most of the same actors are back in the same roles, this is a new interpretation, keeping much of what made the 2004 production fly while upping the ante with a fresh perspective on the material.
Goode's text is coarse, crude, vulgar and sidesplitting, peppered with topical references specific enough to be funny, yet not bound by current events ... In Costello's hands, each reindeer is as complex as any human, each monologue gradually building to an apex of anger or indignation... refreshingly direct... funny and poignant... right on target - and a refreshing rejoinder to the many syrupy holiday plays that glut the theater scene this time of year "
-OC Register (2005)
"delivers the withering irreverence of only the most well-honed satire... the Chance Theater gives the spiky, R-rated play a distinctive workout...Goode serves up eight successive solo scenes, well-embellished by director Josh Costello and his cast...Costello and company lend the proper tongue-in-cheek irreverence and a wickedly knowing comedic tone, well-balanced by occasional bursts of intense solemnity...a hoof-kick to our gut...an evening of rapid-fire bursts of laughter and intensity."
-OC Register (2004)
"a delicious hoof-stomper, flipping a jingle-belled bird to the season’s most hallowed secular icon"
-OC Weekly (2004)
"great in-your-face seasonal merriment with perverse shock factor... brilliant allegorical satire... hits its mark over and over... wonderful"
—Northern Lights (local weekly)
nominated for the OC Weekly Award for Best Production of 2005
nominated for the OC Weekly Award for Best Ensemble of 2004
"spirited, distinct performances ... exquisitely humorous ... things do get intensely serious. Ultimately, Goode is taking on the entire institution of Christmas, and the sobering question he leaves us with is whether this orgy of consumerism might just be an elaborate smoke screen meant to disguise the rapaciously self-centered creatures who’ve concocted a most noble myth for the most ignoble of purposes. Did I mention it’s also really, really funny?"
-OC Weekly (2005)
"director Josh Costello shows his affinity for Goode's stinging humor. A year ago, Costello helmed the Chance staging of "Reindeer," and although most of the same actors are back in the same roles, this is a new interpretation, keeping much of what made the 2004 production fly while upping the ante with a fresh perspective on the material.
Goode's text is coarse, crude, vulgar and sidesplitting, peppered with topical references specific enough to be funny, yet not bound by current events ... In Costello's hands, each reindeer is as complex as any human, each monologue gradually building to an apex of anger or indignation... refreshingly direct... funny and poignant... right on target - and a refreshing rejoinder to the many syrupy holiday plays that glut the theater scene this time of year "
-OC Register (2005)
"delivers the withering irreverence of only the most well-honed satire... the Chance Theater gives the spiky, R-rated play a distinctive workout...Goode serves up eight successive solo scenes, well-embellished by director Josh Costello and his cast...Costello and company lend the proper tongue-in-cheek irreverence and a wickedly knowing comedic tone, well-balanced by occasional bursts of intense solemnity...a hoof-kick to our gut...an evening of rapid-fire bursts of laughter and intensity."
-OC Register (2004)
"a delicious hoof-stomper, flipping a jingle-belled bird to the season’s most hallowed secular icon"
-OC Weekly (2004)
"great in-your-face seasonal merriment with perverse shock factor... brilliant allegorical satire... hits its mark over and over... wonderful"
—Northern Lights (local weekly)