Cuts like a Knife: The Knife Before Christmas spoofs the holiday season

Imagine being at the company Christmas party when the boss who everyone secretly hates is murdered. A knife in the chest, right where his heart should be; only he didn’t have a heart. He
drops dead instantly and the rest of the party guests are ding, dong, the witch is dead.

That fantasy which oh so many workers have is the premise behind Act Out Mystery’s campy new murder mystery spoofing Hollywood and the Christmas season, The Knife Before Christmas. It’s a fun Christmas present to all the overworked and under-appreciated employees in the world.

As with all of Act Out Mystery’s productions, this is audience-participation dinner theater. They serve a meal in between acts and then recruit audience members to play small but critical roles in solving the mystery.

In Knife Before Christmas, miserly Ebenezer Burnside (think Ebenezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol and Montgomery Burns from The Simpsons combined) is the loathed owner, so nasty even the audience is rooting to see him keel over dead. But once he does, there’s still the pesky matter of who killed him. Lots of suspects at the party, so it’s up to comedienne Sophie Tucker to solve the mystery.

Casting Sophie Tucker as the detective is inspired. It opens the door for all sorts of jokes. Lara Starr Rigores is a hoot as Sophie, prancing around in skintight, zebra skin pants as she
questions suspects. And Natasha Lloyd pulls off a fun turn as Tiny Tim in the first act while Tory Thompson offers plenty of laughs as a put-upon bodyguard.

But the star of this production is Carson Gilmore, a regular in the Act Out troupe. He plays triple roles – Ebenezer Burnside in the first act, Burnside’s assistant Wayland Smithers in the second and Bing Crosby in the third (don’t ask how Bing works into this play, but he does nicely). Gilmore manages to put a unique spin on each character; he’s clearly loving these roles, especially Bing.

If the play has a fault it’s that certain jokes may be too specific. If you’re not a fan of The Simpsons or The Office, an entire series of jokes will go over your head. And while Bing and Sophie offer plenty of laughs, younger generations may not know who they are.

Nonetheless, The Knife Before Christmas is hilarious fun, a great change of pace for entertainment during the holiday season.

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