Troupe retells holiday classic with twists
David Lynch’s 10 feature films and Twin Peaks, the television event of the early 1990s, often left critics and audiences scratching their heads as the plots zig-zagged amid layers of bizarre imagery and led to ambiguous endings that forced viewers to interpret what had happened.
Over the decades, the master of the macabre attracted a cult following that dove deep into his oeuvre, including short films, music and visual art.
For the holidays, a band of devotees, casual fans and one actor who has seen only two Lynch films are producing an elaborate retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol crammed with inside jokes and arcane references not just to Lynch but Dickens, says John Hartzell, who plays Scrooge.
How the (David) Lynch Stole Christmas, which will be performed at The Yard in Beacon tonight (Dec. 13) and tomorrow, takes advantage of the venue’s split levels. The ground floor will be a greeting space where the actors and ambiance warm up the crowd. Everyone will then head upstairs for the performance and an after-party.
Because flames are prevalent in Lynch’s films, including Fire Walk With Me, the crew wanted to end the night with a bonfire, but a local burn ban quashed the plan.
Playing on a plot element from Blue Velvet, everyone in the house will get a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon, says Shane Killoran, the impresario behind Hit House Creative, a production company responsible for comedy at the Beacon movie theater, film screenings at the VFW and play readings at the Howland Cultural Center.
She bemoans Beacon’s limited theater scene and plans to stage a “full, immersive production of this show next year.”
A Lynch geek, she says the director, who is now 78, “brings you into a world that is viscerally articulated, gorgeous and lush. It can be hilarious, too, but within that he reveals the darker sides of human existence and certainly does not shy away from the travails that women suffer.”
Killoran says the crew plans to transform The Yard space into a funhouse. “You will feel like you’re walking straight into his world,” she says.
The script kept expanding during rehearsals when actors and support staff provided input, Killoran says. During the performance, music and film clips will augment the action.
The book is by Marjorie Lewit, who founded the local Nerd Night and first staged the Lynch-mas play in 2017, before her move to Beacon. Beyond calling out Peaceful Provisions for “the best vegan donuts in the city” (donuts are featured prominently in Twin Peaks), Lewit takes a dimmer view of a more pressing local reality.
Around the play’s midpoint, Scrooge looks around and says, “God, what filth. How can people live this way?” Christmas Present replies: “It’s what they can afford. You know Beacon housing.”
Scrooge thunders that he pays the going wage. “This is what the going wage gets a family,” he says. “Pity.”
The Yard is located at 4 Hanna Lane in Beacon. The show begins at 7:45 p.m. tonight (Dec. 13) and Saturday (Dec. 14), followed by a party. Tickets are $30 at theyardbeacon.com or at the door.
