Irreverent Sacramento arts group offers a holiday show for Christmas haters

A Sacramento original play, “The Grinchfriend Experience,” wasn’t written because of the coronavirus pandemic. But it sure feels pertinent.

The play, which will be featured in a free Saturday night streaming event, is about adapting traditions. “The Grinchfriend Experience” has been adapted into a radio show by a troupe of area artists with an unusual take on Christmas.

Forget about Bing Crosby and Jimmy Stewart; this play is for The Grinch, or anybody who has already had more than enough Christmas.

“The play repeatedly commits sacrilege, like all good satire,” director Anthony Siino said in an email. “A more appropriate take is that it’s more a recontextualization of the Christmas season. Not all of us want the gifts and the glitz, but we can still recognize the joy of coming together and celebrating the loves we share.”

Unlike other holiday traditions, the Saturday night show is probably not best attended by kids. The play is part of an event with a profane name, for starters. There will be festive DJ sets and a wildly messed-up story from William Burg, a Sacramento historian. It can be found on Facebook by searching for Christmas B------- Spectacular.

The event is the product of Sacramento’s underground arts community. Artists Pains Grey, Holiday Special, Andrew Wayne, William Burg and many more worked on the production. Devon McMindes wrote “The Grindchfriend Experience.”

The play centers on The Grinch entering a dating game show hosted by Santa Claus, but it soon becomes clear the show is about much more than a first date.

“It’s a snappy comedy with an eye for mashing together all sorts of Christmas iconography into an original perspective on romance, family and the adaptive nature of tradition,” Siino said. “This event is a partial rejection (of Christmas) so that we might return to a complete appreciation.”

“Anyone who’s missing the more avant garde side of our art community should not miss this. More broadly, anyone with a taste for wild creativity and good tunes is welcome.”

There’s no price of admission but tips are welcomed.

“It’s just pals finding a way to carry on in alienated times,” Siino said. “We may not get to gather but we can still pull our people together and celebrate one another, even in our crass way.

If you go

The Grinchfriend Experience

Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/3343055252490304

Cost: Free