From wonderfully wacky Christmas jumpers to the second coming of Christ, Bwogger Roberta Rhyse (who now wishes to be referred to as ‘Special Snowflake 2.0’) was pleasantly surprised and equally confused by XMAS 12’s Tis the Treason. Bwogger Aliya Schneider joined her in laughter the whole time while taking photo documentation of the character’s schticks.  

Having never experienced an XMAS production at Columbia, I was expecting something akin to most average student Christmas productions, but oh how wrong I was. This entire student-run production, directed by Xander Browne (CC ’19) was sassy, satirical, and politically pertinent, perfectly embodying your average Columbia student. This show captured the ridiculousness of the dilemma surrounding inclusivity in the twenty-first century, sprinkling humour and candy canes over thought-provoking issues to make modern day politics lighthearted and accessible to all.

The play parodied modern day sensitivity and millennial struggles as “Claus & Co.” (of course Santa is a corporate sell out) send out a “Happy Holidays” greeting card, in the place of their usual “Merry Christmas” card. The use of the word “Holidays” generates a rage like no other for Terry Rudolph (Rachel Greenfield, BC’19) who then takes Claus & Co. to court. The journey continues in an attempt to solve the mystery of who was responsible for sending out the tragic Happy Holidays card whilst simultaneously exploring marital strife, conformity, and feminism.

Though the production lacked in diversity and suffered from sound issues during the first half, drowning out some of the principal and ensemble characters, Rachel Greenfield’s hilarious performance and immense talent, combined with an impressively convincing Ms. Claus (Emma Smith, BC ’19), made up for it. Moreover, special mentions must be given to the Nutcracker (Talmage Wise, CC 18) and Snowflake (Ilana Woldenberg, BC ’20) both of whom I identified with on spiritual levels. Not only were their characterizations flawless, consistent and hilarious, they represented the amalgamation of the different comedic styles present in the production.

Including the amusingly relatable Snowflake Squad (Bernadette Bridges, CC ’19 & Gus O’Connor, CC’20), the sassy Frankincense (Sophia Houdaigui, BC’21) and the wacky nonsensical Joffrey  (Avidan Halivini, CC ’19), the entire cast both as individuals and as an ensemble were significantly solid throughout. They gave the appearance of a close-knit, in-sync group, perfect for an XMAS show.

Although the show’s plot grew increasingly hard to follow as it progressed, the musical numbers were extremely impressive. In fact, ‘Crack Your Nuts’ and ‘Charlene’s Mystique’ were such spectacular musical numbers, I would go so far to say that ‘Tis the Treason has been the greatest written show I’ve since at Columbia thus far. The fact that the show and its musical numbers were written and composed all by students (Ariana Busby BC’ 18, Alex Saltiel GS’19 ,Bronwen Chan CC’18 & Jacob Iglitzin  CC’19) exacerbates my admiration.

In short, this show’s combination of Jesus, Betty Friedman, Obama, and O. J. Simpson has led me to the conclusion that if Card’s Against Humanity (the festive edition obviously) was made into a stage show, ‘Tis the Treason would be it, and it was utterly fabulous. Congratulations to the Cast and Crew!