A Nice Family Christmas – of course it is

Each of us has probably enjoyed – or endured – a family dinner at Christmas. It can be a loving, exciting event, or it can be a disaster. Oklahoma City’s Carpenter Square Theatre (CST) brings you playwright Phil Olsen’s version of the latter for you to enjoy this holiday season.

It’s Christmas Eve at Helen Lundeen’s Minneapolis apartment, three years after her husband died. An unexpected visit from crazy Uncle Bob and their outrageous Grandmother starts the evening on its wild journey.

Uncle Bob is a fun loving partier – doesn’t everyone have a crazy Uncle Bob? Grandma, who is in her 70’s, has had a hard life and she is tough as nails. Helen, widowed three years ago, has one goal – keep the peace and get thru the family event without incident.

Middle son, Carl, has been charged to write an article for his newspaper about Christmas with his family or he’s fired. However, he doesn’t have his family’s consent.

One by one, we learn of each family member’s secrets, problems, and dysfunctions, and when they learn that Carl is writing an article with some very personal family information, the fruitcake hits the fan!

The question is, can the magic of Christmas bring them back together?

To find out, you’ll have to see CST’s production of A Nice Family Christmas, at their theater, 800 W. Main St., in downtown OKC, now playing through December 17. Tickets are $20, and are available online at carpentersquare.com or by phone at (405) 232-6500.

Copyright The Gayly - 11/30/2016 @ 12:20 p.m. CST.