If it’s December and you haven’t been annoyed yet by an out-of-town motorist, forgotten where you left your gloves or are a bit giddy about not already having to replace a shear pin on the snowblower, you might be a Tahoe resident. And you might even feel a bit guilty about winter’s late arrival.
Valhalla Tahoe has an icebreaker for that: “Guilty Christmas” debuts with a weeklong performance Dec. 13-17 in the Grand Hall at the Tallac Historic Site. The musical comedy written by David Hamilton and Mark D. Williams is a wintertime version of “Guilty Pleasures,” an inside-Tahoe themed production which had a 10-year run from 2002-2012.
“We always joked that we should write a Christmas version of ‘Guilty Pleasures,’” Hamilton said. “Somehow the idea kept drifting around in the back of our minds. A couple years ago I decided to develop a framework for the show and thought of a few song ideas. Then as the pandemic hit, there was more time to actually put something together. So, I began writing and Mark began composing and the result is ‘Guilty Christmas.’ ”
All but one of the cast members appeared in a version of the first play that was updated six times with contemporary Tahoe content.
“It was a fun, cheesy show, and it gave us our mantra for doing it: Cheese sells,” Hamilton said. “When a show gets popular, one of the other cheesy things producers do is create a holiday or Christmas version, to cash in on the holidays.”
Don’t let the self-deprecation fool you. The shows might sellout in advance so purchase tickets early. And don’t hit the brakes when driving on ice.
“It was tough (to write) because we were working with the same characters and relationships from ‘Guilty Pleasures,’ yet it’s been 10 years since anyone has seen them and of course there will be even more people who have never seen them,” Hamilton said. “It was a challenge to link past and present. I chose not to delve too much into the backstories of the characters that we had used for the first shows but focus more on the current world around us and of course Tahoe in winter.”
The Grand Hall will be adorned with holiday decorations and a giant Christmas tree.
Look for songs about winter driving, running for city council and of course, the pandemic. Plus, a big finale with a practically every classic Christmas song you’ve ever heard.
- ‘Guilty Christmas’
- Where: Valhalla Grand Hall, 1 Valhalla Road (off Highway 89), South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
- When: 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, Dec. 13-17
- Tickets: $25 general admission; $15 children and younger; advance purchase recommended due to likelihood of sellout
- Website to purchase tickets: valhallatahoe.showare.com
- Special preview fundraiser for Boathouse Theatre Lighting: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10; tickets are $30 and $20
- Phone: (530) 541-4975
- Masks: Required
- Disclaimer: This play contains material about living at Tahoe in wintertime. Any resemblance to any actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental (unless you don’t believe in coincidence).
One Response
Best show ever!