ProZack the Sad Elf

Ben Asaykwee saves Christmas!

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By John Lyle Belden

OK, so I exaggerate a bit. Still, local creative treasure Ben Asaykwee does bless us with two holiday shows this month.

His “Christmas Carol Comedy” returns, a parody of the Dickens classic that even Asaykwee calls “the dumbest thing you’ll see on stage.” It’s a perfect chance to stop taking the world seriously for a couple of hours, relax, and laugh at the absurdity.

Remember how silly it was last year, having Matt Anderson as Scrooge and Tiffanie Bridges as Tiny Tim? Well, this year they switched roles. As usual there is a huge cast, with every child who auditioned included as an “urchin” and one of the many, many Cratchit children. The approach of having experienced actors and novices work side-by-side works great in this low-stakes environment. It even bridges generations; for instance, Jaddy Ciucci and Maria Meschi, long-time collaborators with Asaykwee, get to perform with their young sons.

Hannah Boswell gets rowdy as Ghost of Christmas Past, Noah Lee and Mariana Haig are Mr. and Mrs. Cratchit, Kelly Haas is Nephew Fred, Kendrell Stiff is the Dodger, and Spencer Hahn is Kermit the coincidentally-named frog. Also appearing are Lisa Anderson, Luna Capehart, Sophia Capehart, Patrick Clemens, Carrie Cooper, Ben Curry, Jensen Dasbach, Lyra Dickson, Jessica Dickson, Ansel Dilger, Aliyah Distelrath, Lillie Distelrath, Cari Gallagher, Beth Gibson, Lillian Hall, Zara Heck, Elsie Huldeen, Adriel Kyrie, Anna Lee, Ethan Lee, Jared Lee, Samuel Lee, Calvin Meschi, Bastian Russell, Benjamin Thomas, Fynlee Thomas, Charlotte Wagner, and Noah Winston. Boswell also assists Asaykwee with direction.

And it’s also a musical, so we get some clever Ben Asaykwee songs like the gloriously superfluous “We Fly,” and the wit of “You Can’t Take it With You,” which has a style reminiscent of his Cabaret Poe.

But mostly – as it is even sung in one chorus – “this is dumb!” Hilariously, cheekily entertainingly, dumb, and a must-add to your holiday traditions. Performances run through Dec. 22 at The District Theatre, 627 Massachusetts Ave. in downtown Indy.

Also at the District, on Dec. 14, 15, 18, 21, 22, and 23, Asaykwee hosts his Happy JingleSprinkleTimez Cabaret. Another all-ages show, Ben presents a program of songs, stories, poetry and charming video vignettes. The opening performance had a technical glitch that made its moment even funnier;  a couple of surprises are likely whenever you attend, as Asaykwee works the spontaneous magic of live theater.  

And, if the connection to the North Pole is good, we also get a visit with ProZack the Sad Elf.

So, to sum up: Marley’s still dead, Ben Asaykwee performs live, and it would be smart to experience the dumbness. Get tickets at indydistricttheatre.org.

The Elf may not enjoy this, but you will

PWJW_Indy Reviews, Stage , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

By John Lyle Belden

For an Elf, labor at the Toy Workshop is like a factory job anywhere in the world, with lunch hour your one respite from the constant grind. Being in the desolate dark zone above the Arctic Circle, when one of your workers – who has issues, to say the least – requests to entertain the crew with a “celebration of truth and pure being” during the break, it’s a good idea to let him ramble his weird poetry or whatever.

But as we see reenacted at the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Center, when “ProZack the Sad Elf” gets an unused storage room to put on his show, things get weirder than usual. Apparently, this year we get “The ProZack Holiday Musical (No, it’s not!)” starring Ben Asaykwee, Ben Asaykwee, Ben Asaykwee, Ben Asaykwee, Ben Asaykwee, Ben Asaykwee, and a demented Tree.

ProZack provides profound spoken verse with titles like “Nothingness,” and “Untitled.” Tinsel plays and sings holiday songs, even after he’s killed. Videographer Snowflake is up to some visual trickery. Tinkle tries to bring “levity” but has problems with his puppet, Mr. Tree, whose anger is growing, and growing. Meanwhile Glister, the industrial death metal Elf, has caught a worrying case of sentimentality.

With so much going wrong, ProZack has to frequently go backstage, where Snowflake also set up cameras. We see the elves interact and try to find their way through this madness that includes odd holiday movie references and the secret of what’s stored away in that “empty” room.

Not to mention the literal “Star” of the show…

With the help of multimedia and other effects, Asaykwee delivers a fun and surprisingly action-packed one-person show, masterfully juggling the various personae throughout the two-act “lunch hour.” There was much laughter, some finger-snapping (how you applaud poetry), and a bit of innuendo – so this is for humans of double-digit age (or relative equivalent for elves or other mythical beings).

“ProZack The Sad Elf,” also created, written, and directed by Asaykwee, runs through Dec. 23 on the Basile Theatre stage at the Phoenix, 705 N. Illinois St. in downtown Indianapolis. Get information and tickets at phoenixtheatre.org.