CabaretMUST SEEREVIEWSTheatre ReviewsTom Williams

This Way Outta Santaland

(and other xmas miracles).

Created & performed by Mitchell Fain.

Music direction by Julie B. Nichols.

Absolutely honest personal stories fuel unique holiday show.

After 8 seasons and 254 performances of  The Santaland Diaries, Mitchell Fain has returned to Theater Wit with his own deeply personal holiday show, This Way Outta Santaland,  complete with the fabulous singer Meghan Murphy and pianist Julie B. Nichols. This 90 minute one-act is a mix of storytelling. holiday boozy Christmas Carols, celerity holiday gossip and revealing stories of the private lives of the featured elf – Mitchell Fain.

Santaland 1

As the drinks keep coming, Mitchell Fain, together with personal stories from Meghan Murphy,  reflects on his personal life with humor and candor. As Fain tells his story, I was struck as to the complete honesty from Fain. He is so comfortable with himself that he easily has no trouble with revealing intimate foibles of his live growing up in Rhode Island. With biting humor, Fain earns empathy with the audience by openly admitting things that most of us would not. His sheer honesty wins us.

Add some clever tunes mixed with holiday favorites deftly sung by power-voiced Meghan Murphy and This Way Outta Santaland is a precious, deeply human, holiday night of stories celebrating one of the funniest entertainers  working in Chicago – Mitchell Fain.  He proves that if you play yourself, and have the chutzpah to be completely honest that truth can be hilarious. Fain’s bluntness enhances the holiday spirit with his bravery. Upon leaving this  warm-hearted show, I stated that Fain admitted to things most of us would never mention. Often the raw truth renders the loudest laughs. Mitchell Fain is a force of nature and a sublime entertainer. Honest rules here.

Highly Recommended.

Tom Williams.

Date Reviewed: December 3, 2016.

For more info checkout This Way Outta Santaland page at theatreinchicago.com.

At Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont, Chicago, IL, tickets $20 – $29, call 773-975-8150, www.theaterwit.org,   Thursday Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm,  Wed, Dec. 21 at 7:30 pm, and a late night show to close the run on Friday, December 23 at 9:30 pm, running time is 90 minutes without intermission , through December 23, 2016.