“Santasia” Turns 20!

***

We love our unique, fun, kookie, creative traditions. “SANTASIA – A Holiday Comedy” is one of our team’s traditions and has been for nearly 20 years! This Off-Broadway hit and Critics’ Pick is a laugh-out-loud annual holiday romp and the perfect blend of Yuletide snark and sentiment. Even if you can’t stand the holiday or love it to the point of wearing ugly sweaters, the show is for you. This is what makes it brilliant.

“SANTASIA – A Holiday Comedy,” created by Shaun and Brandon Loeser, directed by Shaun Loeser,  has been compared to “The Carol Burnett Show,” “The Kids in the Hall,” “In Living Color,” “Saturday Night Live” and Vaudeville. This multi-media holiday special has it all, including classic Rankin and Bass Claymation-inspired movies, musical parodies, and heartfelt holiday moments with new sketches and audience favorites. 

“Santasia – A Holiday Comedy”  at Whitefire Theatre via the official NoHo Arts District Guide; www.nohoartsdistrict.com

What was the genesis for what is now “Santasia?”

Well, on July 1, 2000, our dad lost a hard-fought battle with cancer. He actually had the disease 3 different times. Dad always made Christmas the best time of year for us kids.

So when the holidays started approaching my brother, Brandon, and I agreed instead of grieving Christmas time…let’s make fun of it. That’s what our dad would have wanted anyway. Our dad was a joker and the funniest guy we ever knew. Plus, I thought it was going to be cheaper than seeing a shrink…19 years later, it turns out I was wrong.

“Santasia” has been going strong for 20 holiday seasons! To what do you attribute the success of the show?

The secret is love…The show has always been a labor of love. That’s the real reason. And there’s something for everyone. We offer dance and musical numbers, stunts,animation, funny sketches and heart warming stories that remind us of our childhood.

“Santasia – A Holiday Comedy”  at Whitefire Theatre via the official NoHo Arts District Guide; www.nohoartsdistrict.com

Do you have a favorite sketch?

FROSTY is a story brilliantly told by Brandon about a romantic evening shared with “Frosty the Snowman.” 

SLEDDING which is a crazy pantomime bobsled ride of death.

If you could, make a show based on another holiday, which holiday would you choose and why?

Halloween…it could be fun and scary. And we could give out candy.

“Santasia – A Holiday Comedy”  at Whitefire Theatre via the official NoHo Arts District Guide; www.nohoartsdistrict.com

What advice do you have for aspiring comedians and/or playwrights who want to create comedies for the theatre?

Our advice would be to always root your comedy in truth, That’s the first thing we learned. Also, constantly tweak your work…you can always learn and make things better. Also, workshop your play before you jump into it feet first. Sometimes less is more.

Is there anything else you might want us to know or you want to share about “Santasia?”

We want to thank our loyal Santasia fan base and family. We started in a 25 seat tiny black box theatre with only 4 performances. Now look where we are -16 shows in a 99 seat theatre to succesfully playing Off-Broadway NYC for 2 seasons!

This is going to be the best Santasia ever!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrTluIogrOV/

WHEN:

December 6 – December 28

WHERE:

Whitefire Theatre
13500 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423

TICKETS>>


Follow NoHo News with Bloglovin

**** For information on Los Angeles theatre, tickets to theatre in North Hollywood’s NoHo Arts District, theatre reviews, the NoHo Event Calendar, restaurants, news and local businesses in NoHo, or anything and everything about the NoHo Arts Community, bookmark nohoartsdistrict.com. Follow us on Twitter @OfficialNoHo. On Instagram @NoHoArtsDistrict and Facebook @NoHoArtsDistrict.