Island of Misfits Entertains, But Only Fitfully

Buried under the avalanche of over-writing that is Island of Misfits (Thurs-Sun through December 21, tickets $10) is a very funny parody of the stop-motion holiday classic Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town. In this case, puppeteer Freddie Douglas Black (Geoffery Simmons, with a Poitier-esque suit and throaty rasp) has been called up for the Vietnam draft, so he heads for the snowy north (Canada) with his cynical, lovelorn photographer Snowflake Jones (Kaitie Warren) and stick-in-the-mud production supervisor Herbie Pickle (Patrick Allcorn)--they've got nothing better to do, since they've all been laid off. Stop-motion is cheaper to do in Japan.

Stopped by a pair of KKK irregulars--Black is black--the trio meets the local grand dragon, the Winter Warlock (Aaron LaPlante, in full hillbilly mode)...and hilarity ensues. (Depending on who you are, that is--the older black guy next to us didn't so much as chuckle.) In a nutshell, this is the dramatic bind that playwright Amy Boyce Holtcamp has written herself into: either the work is satirical and can still carry weight, or it's an absurd comedy, in which nothing is ever all that serious. But though Holtcamp wants both, nothing is all that biting--the message, that the U.S. is a land of misfits where all can belong, is wielded like a blunt instrument.

Holtcamp also wants an extended director's cut: the original special ran 48 minutes, but Island of Misfits pads things out to two and a half hours, with mini-story arcs for all three leads, not just Freddie Douglas. That means each lead gets a didactic, holiday-special monologue, delivered with great sincerity, about being black, female, or gay in America. And they all come in the second act, after you've put in an hour and a half already. We recommend you don't skip the bar at intermission.

Freddie Douglas (Geoffery Simmons) and Snowflake Jones (Kaitie Warren) in Amy Boyce Holtcamp's Island of Misfits, photo by John Ulman