Reviewed by Tracey Paleo, Gia On The Move
High above the city of L.A., a team of terrorists has seized a building, taken hostages, and declared war. One man has managed to escape. An off-duty cop hiding somewhere inside. He’s alone, he’s tired…and he doesn’t like Christmas.
Theatre Unleashed boldly released its holiday perennial A Very Die Hard Christmas into the wilds of the 2018 Hollywood Fringe and it’s probably safe to say it is now a categorically, classic audience favorite.
There could not be a more perfectly cast lead in Wade Wilson as John McClane, to spoof the American action/thriller Die Hard hero. He’s all guts and attitude and oh so, perfectly cynical with a smidgen of logic thrown in for good measure to counteract the insatiable ridiculousness of every other character and scenario in this production.
“Welcome to the party pal!” It’s awesome!
Resplendent with classic (adapted) lines from the original movie, Hans Gruber (Jim Martyka) and his dim villains (Carey Matthews, Matt Pick, Adam Slemon) couldn’t be any more smarmy or ludicrous. Nor geekier than pregnant Ginny (Liesl Jackson) or as comedically and flirtatiously well-times as Holly (Kire Horton).
The gags never get old (we’ve seen it twice in the last 6 months!). And much like a Karaoke song where you already know the words, you’ll look forward to going along with the predictable insanity.
“Do you really think you have a chance against us, Mr. Cowboy?”
“Yippee-ki-yay, mother****er.”
Highly Recommended
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