Holiest of Molies: A Christmas on the Rocks Review

Kevin McCallister, Elf on a Shelf, and Charlie Brown walks into a bar. TheaterWorks Hartford celebrates another holiday season with a production of Christmas on the Rocks  directed by Rob Ruggiero (and sponsored by Floyd W. Green, III) that takes the best memories of the holidays, adds a few dashes of adulthood trauma, double strains the somber, and pours up the laughter.

This production serves as a holiday tradition revue of sorts, highlighting the season’s favorite characters like Home Alone’s Kevin McCallister (Harry Bouvy), a disgruntled Elf on the Shelf (Jen Cody), Frosty the Snowman’s creator, Karen (Jen Cody), and even Charlie Brown (Harry Bouvy). Each character happens upon the bar in a time of crisis and finds themselves engaging in therapeutic conversation with the bartender (Three’s Company’s Richard Kline).

Bouvy is delightful and Kline is a treat, but it’s Cody that absolutely steals the show, carrying the weight of comedic brilliance on her shoulders.

Michael Schweikardt’s set design is a cozy bar that has all the trappings of a third place as one would see frequented in their favorite sitcom. Alejo Vietti’s costume design layers the nostalgia, adding hints of familiarity to each character, and the tag teamed lighting and sound design of John Lasiter and Michael Miceli breathe life into the production. The cohesion of cast and crew creates the perfect show to come down from the hustle of the job and get into the bustle of the holidays.

Christmas on the Rocks runs through to December 22nd. You don’t want to miss this side-splitting show! For tickets, visit https://twhartford.org/.