Review of Kokandy Production's A Kokandy Christmas

Once upon a time I went to a show and it was called A Kokandy Christmas. It was directed by Michael Potsic and the music direction was by Aaron Benham. The arrangements were by Potsic and Benham. It was basically a concert with stories told by the actors: Emily Grayson, Christina Hall, Garrett Lutz, and Sasha Smith. I didn't see Jaymes Osbourne, but he's usually in it too. I really enjoyed myself. You get to tap your foot along with some of your favorite Christmas tunes. I really liked it.

I thought the stories were all very intriguing. Some were touching and some were funny, but they all captured the Christmas spirit and showed what Christmas meant to the individual people. The story Sasha Smith told was very funny and touching because she sat under the tree with her N'Sync album and her Barbie, crying because those were the two things she really wanted. I thought that was hilarious. But the touching part is that her mom would drive around with her looking at Christmas lights and singing Christmas carols to her and she fell asleep listing to her mom in the dark but lighted night. I thought that was very beautiful. Christina Hall's story I really liked because it was all about her family going to get their Christmas tree, but they lived in Texas so there was no snow. So they decided to get this coating of fake snow on their tree, and then the people in the neighborhood would stop by and say how beautiful it was. And I thought the point of the story was that one small thing can bring a whole neighborhood together. Emily Grayson also had a very moving story because she had been going through some hard times. And she doesn't usually celebrate Christmas, but one time she walked into a Christmas tree lot and realized that Christmas is not just a holiday that other people celebrate; it is something she could feel too. Garrett Lutz had a story about watching Christmas movies with his family, but one year he couldn't do that because he was at college. So he just watched with his friends. And that showed that if you still have your traditions, no matter where you are, it will still make you feel at home.

I really liked the music. One thing that I liked about it was that they always made at least a small little twist on your favorite Christmas songs. "All I Want for Christmas is You" was super funny because it was like a confession at the wrong time. Garett Lutz is trying to sing his song and then Sasha Smith comes in and is trying to seduce him with her Christmas song. And his reaction is kind of like, "Not now, please." But then they start dancing together and it is so hilarious. I loved the song "River" that Emily Grayson sang. I felt like her voice was so perfect with the song. It is about everybody having a lot of Christmas cheer except for you, and you are trying to get away from all the happiness because you don't feel the happiness and you wish you had a river you could skate away on. "The Little Drummer Boy" was the normal song but with a twist. Every time they got to a certain part of the song, the drummer (Scott Simon) would go crazy and play really fast, but then he would get glared at by the bassist (Ben Dillinger) and piano player (Benham). And it was kind of like Animal from the Muppets. I thought it was hilarious.

People who would like this show are people who like Texas Christmas trees, Christmas songs, and N'Sync and Barbies. I think people should definitely go see this show before Christmas. It got me in the Christmas spirit and I really loved it. It made me feel like going and decorating our Christmas tree, eating cookies, and watching the Charlie Brown Christmas special!

Photos: Samuel Rose