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These days, the definition of a "Christmas Movie" has expanded to include everything from Todd Hayne's brooding period drama Carol to horror offerings like Violent Night. If it takes place during the holiday season or so much as mentions December 25, it's in.
1988's Die Hard may have been one of the first films to help break down the barriers for how audiences define holiday classics, offering an alternative answer for grinches and manly-men alike to the question "What's your favorite Christmas movie?" Bruce Willis in his prime, Alan Rickman doing a (very odd) German accent, and a few Santa hats in the mix to make sure we remember this high-rise action thriller takes place on Christmas Eve. An instant classic.
Some have taken to the John McTiernan-directed film more than others (me, I prefer my holiday films of the Bing Crosby and James Stewart variety), none so more than Richard Marsh, a British playwright and actor who presents Yippee Ki Yay, his one-man show chronicling both the film and his courtship and relationship with now-wife Jen, at the Broadway Playhouse through December 15. A sharp 75 minutes (the film is over two hours long) with no intermission, Yippee Ki Yay manages to be both hilarious and heartfelt, as Marsh adopts a number of (quite good!) impressions to portray John McClane (Willis), Hans Gruber (Rickman) and more. A sparse stage—just a chair and a few black boxes hiding timely props he'll use in the story—combine with clever sound and lighting design to bring this holiday action film creatively to the stage.
The most impressive part of Yippee Ki Yay is easily Marsh's performance, at once energetic and affable. He's all we've got by way of caring about the show and the story he's telling, so it all quite literally falls to him to ensure we go along for the ride. Originally staged at the renowned Edinburgh Fringe Fest in 2022, Marsh hasn't lost any of his enthusiasm for the material (or if he has, he's indeed a very good actor). That likely has to do with threads of his own personal story he weaves into the retelling, chronicling his first date with the woman who he'd go on to marry and have children with. It's a sweet way to remind us what an impact films have on our lives, or perhaps art in general. We all have a song, a painting, a film and so on that connect us to the most important people in our lives.
He also has enough of a mastery of the material that he's able to roll with the punches here and there. More than once, Marsh breaks the fourth wall to connect with those in the audience, never missing a beat. And the show is nicely up-to-date on cultural references (take count of how many times he references Rickman's Harry Potter days). That he's also poking fun at this now-classic '80s flick along the way adds to the delight, noting here and there the various ways the film really doesn't make much sense at all (John takes his shoes off? There's a huge water feature on the plush 30th floor, but the ten floors above are unfinished?). He's as aware as any of us just how silly it is that this is the film he and his partner have attached their origin story to.
It all makes for a warm and welcoming, if unconventional, way to get in your festive activities this holiday season. The ties to all things Christmas may be tenuous both in Die Hard the film and here in Yippee Ki Yay, but there's enough there for elves of all ages to enjoy.
Yippee Ki Yay runs through December 15 at Broadway Playhouse (175 E. Chestnut St.); tickets are available at Broadway in Chicago.
For more information on this and other productions, see theatreinchicago.com.
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