Playwright: Scott Bradley (book and lyrics), Alan Schmuckler (music). At: About Face Theatre at Steppenwolf Garage, 1624 N. Halsted St. Tickets: 1-312-335-1650; www.steppenwolf.org; $25. Runs through: Dec. 23
All the familiar Xmas stories are there: a hint of Xmas Carol, a whisper of It's a Wonderful Life, a touch of Project Runway. Yes, Conrad Ticklebottom, the Scrooge-ish fashion designer who needs an attitude adjustment, has a bit of Tim Gunn in him, especially as played by waspish Scott Duff.
To be sure, We Three Lizas is a considerable mash-up of Christmas and LGBT iconography—instead of three ghosts you get three Liza Minnellis (well, sort-of) but it's a fun mash-up, especially with clever songs by Scott Bradley (lyrics) and Alan Schmuckler (music and additional lyrics). Indeed, Schmuckler is a great catch for this lowish-rent gay holiday show, as he's very much considered a rising star among young musical-theater authors. The songs not only are better than expected for this type of show, but better than they need to be, with Schmuckler very adept at Kander and Ebb-style vamps and tunes.
The project is a family affair, with a number of About Face associate artists involved, beginning with Bradley, who not only conceived and co-authored the show but also plays Liza Now, the present incarnation of a Liza presumably on the downside of "two much pills and liquor." Bradley is 10 times taller than Minelli with an even deeper voice, which only adds to the bespangled costume fun. Those very colorful outfits are the considerable work of Mieka ven der Ploeg and Robert S. Kuhn, and you will enjoy them a lot. Director Scott Ferguson also is an About Face associate artist, and he is reliably insouciant in his fast and sharp staging, which takes the cast literally all over the quasi-free-form configuration of the Garage Theatre. He's greatly assisted by the choreography of Patrick Andrews (another About Face associate), whose lock on Fosse-inspired gyrations is uncanny.
The company also features Sean Blake in the, uh, mystical role of Mystique, kind of the Jacob Marley figure who summons the three Lizas, but also a witch of the most beautiful sort—in this case, tall, Black and in drag, as if Kinky Boots never had left town. With a powerful voice as well as moves, Blake stops the show with a big power number. Also displaying their wares to very good effect are Danielle Plisz as Liza Then and Dana Tretta as Ticklebottom's sexually ambiguous and put-upon whipping "boy." Schmuckler and Bradley have provided each of them with an effective number.
So go do the LGBT thing this holiday season with a new show to compete with Rudolph the Red-Hosed Reindeer and The Santaland Diaries. If you like men in high heels and a witchy sort-of vibe, this show's for YOU! FYI: Pre-show live entertainment begins 45 minutes before curtain time, and there's a bar.
