At Minneapolis' Brave New Workshop, the Donald has displaced the Grinch as our holiday grouch.
"The Trump Who Stole Christmas," BNW's latest satirical revue, opened a week after presidential candidate Donald Trump hosted "Saturday Night Live." The NBC episode, generally panned by critics, could have used some help from the Minneapolis troupe.
Playfully directed by Caleb McEwen and written by its ensemble members, "Trump" offers a hefty helping of wry, cutting wit. Ryan Nelson plays the title character with pursed lips, smarmy pomposity and zero self-reflection.
The Trump that pops up throughout the Workshop's show is a cartoon character who, to quote the opening narration, "rumbled and grumbled, a modern-day Scrooge, his vision was narrow but his ego was huge. … His eyes were blood-red and he looked like a ferret had died on his head."
He sings: "I am awesome!" His response to being called on issues of race and gender? Bring it on.
"Wives are like iPhones," he says in one monologue, "you have to keep upgrading or people think you're a loser."
The Workshop famously comes up with titles to its shows before it finishes its sketches. Trump may be the headliner of its latest revue, but the troupe sends up broader themes that emerge as people gather and reflect at the holidays.
In one sketch, "Duck," two single people (Bobby Gardner and Lauren Anderson) try to find companionship. But Anderson's character has "shape-lexia," a condition in which she melds words like asparagus and spherical, and leads her to confuse Christmas trees with a shape (tree triangle). At Saturday night's performance, Gardner and Anderson could barely get through the dialogue without cracking each other — and us — up.
