THEATER: A bah humbug for ‘Little Theatre Christmas’

"A Little Theatre Christmas" is a throwback to the days when community playhouses used to rush together a nondescript evening of Yuletide songs with nondescript performances, in the hopes of getting away with it by the audience's seasonal goodwill.

It's not that the Las Vegas Little Theatre's show doesn't have talent. It just seems that the director Walter Niejadlik and the rest of his guilty party don't have their heart in this one.

The evening starts out promisingly when we get a look at Niejadlik's set: an apartment cheerfully decorated with snow, trees, poinsettias, lights, many stuffed dolls, chimney stockings, and tons of knick-knacks. Every item feels perfectly placed. And the apartment has three playing areas — topped by an angled ceiling window — that allows for visual variety. The design puts you in the perfect mood for some holiday merriment. Too bad a set does not a show make.

The selected concert-styled songs are a balanced blend of moods, from the traditional "White Christmas," the rousing "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," the comical "Baby, It's Cold Outside," and the melancholy "River" (lyric: "Wish I had a river I could skate away on").

But they are poorly staged, and, with only a couple of exceptions, tepidly sung. Most of the performers lack command, as if they hadn't had adequate rehearsal time.

Comic songs — such as the painful "I Want a Hippopotamus" — are kidded so unmercifully that you wish the singers had not been told they were supposed to be funny. And the show is so short — less than 60 minutes which includes a nearly fifteen-minute intermission — that you feel the audience should ask for part of its $20 back.

My guess is, this entertainment was put together at the last minute, and little creative thought when into it. The Little Theatre usually takes great care with its productions, but this one feels neglected and disrespected. Patrons are being insulted.

(Cast: Gillen Brey, Alex Cheney, Joy Demain, Kim Glover, Rebecca Kaufman, Steve McMillian, Mario Mendez, Penni Mendez, Sarah Spraker, Amanda Terrill, Kelly Ward-Radan, Drew Yonemori, Mary Beth Zentner, with musical director Toby McEvoy on piano.)

What: "A Little Theatre Christmas"

When: 8 p.m. tonight; 2 p.m. Sunday

Where: Las Vegas Little Theatre mainstage, 3920 Schiff Drive

Tickets: $15-$20 (362-79976; lvlt.org)

Grade: D-