ORLANDO — Right off the bat, I happily give the new Winter Park Playhouse musical, Honky Tonk Angels Holiday Hoedown, extra points for its originality and exceptionally clever comedic muggings. It may the first show to have a rip-roaring, clap your hands and stomp your feet musical number sung by a woman who is 9 months pregnant – with twins!
And it’s absolutely hilarious.
Hannah McGinley Lemasters is downright hysterical as the good-natured gal Angela, who sets the show’s plot in motion by her late-stage pregnancy, which keeps her from taking part in a reunion of the Honky Tonk Angels, a harmonious trio that includes Darlene (Monica Titus) and Sue Ellen (Rebecca Jo Lightfoot), for a holiday show aimed at getting the audience into the Christmas spirit.
With Angela out, their galpal Charilee (Tesia Kwarteng) is happy to step in for her — ahh, but it takes more than just having twins in her belly to keep Angela off that stage. First she pops up to watch the show, and then she’s singing along.
By the time she’s crooning Elvis’ toe-tapper “Burning Love,” Angela is squirming in her chair because, hot diggity dawg, those twins are getting ready to meet the world.
Honky Tonk Angels Holiday Hoedown is the Playhouse’s blissfully sublime holiday show, and while Christmas-themed plays tend to have plenty of sentimental moments — and so does this one — it’s extra-rich in the humor department. Think of a turkey dinner for Christmas day with tons of extra stuffings. These four ladies have singing voices that will blow you away, but wowie they sure know their comedy, too.
What is the show Honky Tonk Angels?
The musical is a holiday-themed sequel to playwright Ted Swindley’s original Honky Tonk Angels, about the comical escapades of three good ole country gals. Here they reunite for a Christmas show at the Hillbilly Heaven Club in Nashville, but with Charilee happily stepping in for expecting mom Angela. While Sue-Ellen, Charilee and Darlene start the show with some holiday favorites such as “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Santa Claus is Coming To Town,” it isn’t long before Angela is poking her head backstage to see how they’re doing without her.
And what a hoedown it is!
part of the show’s appeal is how captivating the four women are, turning into gorgeous renditions of everything from country standards (“It Wasn’t God Who made Honky Tonk Angels”) to sentimental classics (Dolly Parton’s “Coat Of Many Colors”), inspirational numbers (“What a Wonderful World,” “From A Distance”) and plenty of traditional holiday numbers.
But the show really soars on its good natured chuckles and guffaws. There’s Angela, constantly hungry — after all, she’s eating for three — and having an irresistible craving for munching on snowballs from the nearby 7-11. Then we have Charilee, who is not only a talented singer but also a psychic. She speaks fondly to the spirit of her late husband on stage, and has an uncanny ability to sense exactly what her fellow Angels are thinking — which drives Sue Ellen nuts!
One of the show’s funniest moments is when Angela brings the house down singing “Burning Love” during some exasperating labor pains. Lemasters handles this song like a comedic pro, and she’s a visual delight struggling in her chair as the twins start kicking.
Even better is when her fellow Angels appear all decked out as Elvis imitators to sing “Blue Christmas” — one of the show’s picture-perfect chucklesome skits.
It helps enormously that all four characters are instantly likeable, but it’s the Playhouse’s superb choice is casting that puts the icing on this holiday cake.
How is The Winter Park Playhouse Production?
Energetically directed by Kate Adams Kramer, she keeps the pace up with some spirited choreography that give our four performers the ability to move with the groove, keeping this show delightfully lively from beginning to end. If Lesmasters knows how to wring the humor out of her character’s pregnancy or her craving for sugary sweets, Kwarteng is a match as the excitable Charilee. Not only is she highly animated to have the opportunity to join the Angels for a night, but those snappy psychic predictions just keep on flowing, delivered in Charilee’s gentle, motherly way.
Lightfoot has another of the show’s highlights as she attempts a sing-a-long of “Feliz Navidad” – with all the single men in the audience between the ages of 20 and 92 who earn $200,000 a year. Watch with glee how that one unfolds.
And Titus has some of the show’s most tender solo songs, which she delivers with an enticing amount of pure heart and soul. The production ends with the Angels performing a spirited, exciting and rousing version of “Joy To The World” — no, not the Christmas standard, but Three Dog Night! It’s a grand slam, knock it out of the ballpark ending guaranteed to send you rushing to get your Christmas tree up and to immediately put your holiday shopping on speed dial.
And besides that, Honky Tonk Angels Holiday Hoedown is just an irresistible delight for a spirited and upbeat Christmas show.
Where Can I See Honey Tonk Angels?
Honky Tonk Angels Holiday Hoedown is being performed now through Saturday, Dec. 20 at the Winter Park Playhouse’s current home at the Lowndes Shakespeare Center, 812 E Rollins St. The Playhouse has a ticket booth right outside the Mandell Theater where its shows are performed. There is ample parking at Orlando Shakes, and VIP parking is available for Winter Park Playhouse performances.
The musical runs for one hour and 45 minutes with a 15 minute intermission. Performances are Fridays and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Friday and Saturday matinees at 2 p.m. and select Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $47 for evening shows, $45 for seniors during evening shows, and $42 for matinees. There are $20 tickets for students ages 15-25, active military and theatrical industry professionals. Student rush “$10@10” offers $10 tickets (for students 25 years and younger) are available 10 minutes prior to a performance when seats are available.
To purchase tickets or for more information call the box office at 407-645-0145 or visit the theater online at www.winterparkplayhouse.org.
Michael Freeman is an Orlando journalist, playwright, and author of the book A Christmas Eve Story. Contact him at Freelineorlando@gmail.com.
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