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Miss Pixie: a nice holiday change at the GAM |
BY ABBY FOX
PAWTUCKET–Any theater fan like me leaves a show at the Gamm Theatre with a
smile, enjoying the afterglow of a lively Casey Seymour Kim performance,
wondering how nice it would be to see the great funny little woman in a
show of her own.
Then along comes Miss Pixie’s Cable Access Holiday Extravaganza, playing
until Dec. 23, wherein my favorite Gamm actress has the stage (almost) all
to herself. For little more than an hour, she sings, dances, jumps around,
answers the doorbell to surprise guests and tells her jokes.
This entertainment is just right for the person who’s had enough of It’s a
Wonderful Life and A Charlie Brown Christmas and needs a non-sentimental,
farcical approach to the holiday season and all the obligations and
rituals that go with it.
Kim is one of those entertainers who’s not only a good actress but —
another treat altogether — a great personality, whom you’re happy to look
at and laugh at, whether or not her humor is always original. She can
deliver any line, take on any personality, improvise with any actor, and
the variety of expressions and gestures at her disposal makes everything
about her funny and charming.
That ability, to be a pleasure to be around as well as talented, works
well in a show like Miss Pixie’s, a spin-off of the celebrity variety
shows from the 50 and 60s, which survived from the attractiveness of the
host and his or her guests, not just because of the written material.
I presume the hard-working people of the Gamm have too many serious plays
to bite into to have time for musicals – no problem; more power to them, I
guess. But, I felt fortunate to hear Kim belt out a few well-written,
sweet and silly numbers like “December Nights of Blue and White (It’s
Christmas for the Jews),” “It’s All About You,” and “Chaim the Hanukkah
Turtle.”
While some thespians would have a hard time trying to take a couple of
playful knocks at the holidays without sounding sarcastic, bitter, or
Scrooge-ey, Kim doesn’t have that problem at all.
The only regrettable aspect of the show is a lack of someone on stage to
match Kim in wits; there’s no, shall we say, a Rowan to her Martin. (Tony
Estrella, the Gamm’s artistic director — where was he?). Another (small)
bummer is that Kim is never on stage languishing flirtatiously in a bubbly
tub, filled with holiday ornaments, like the ad for the show would have
you believe. That exciting sight, by itself, would have been worth the
price of admission.
The Gamm Theatre is located at 172 Exchange St., Pawtucket. Call
723-4266. Tickets cost $25.
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