Zachary Parsons-Lozinski and Thomas Jones in With Bells On, Theatre Network. Photo by Ian Jackson, EPIC Photography

By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca

Ask not for whom the bells toll, my festive-seeking friends. They toll for thee in the spirited new holiday musical getting its premiere in an elevator at Theatre Network.

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The elevator, which has a Grinchian mind of its own in With Bells On!, is on the mainstage, stuck between Up and Down (literally and metaphorically) somewhere between the 14th floor and terra firma. And trapped inside is the unlikeliest of pairs: two strangers, urban high-rise neighbours with their own reasons for being fretful (and/or pissed off, furious,  red-alert panic-stricken) on Christmas Eve.

The new musical by Devanand Janki and Tommy Newman (book) with the latter’s music and lyrics, is based on a play: Darrin Hagen’s effervescent 2010 two-hander comedy, a seasonal fave that’s crossed the border and is currently running in Calgary at Lunchbox Theatre.

The characters are a study in contrasts, and in themselves a startling sight gag, as kitted out by designer Brianna Kolybaba (I defy you to see them together and not smile). Ted (Thomas Jones) is a sad-sack pipsqueak of an accountant, gray of mood and suit. Drag queen Natasha (Zachary Parsons-Lozinski, aka Lilith Fair) is a twinkling seven-foot tannenbaum, sparkling from head to toe, who has evidently taken the show title to heart. And she’s certainly got the donning of gay apparel down.

In Janki’s production the initial moment, when Ted looks up, up and way up, awestruck to see the light-up chandelier on Natasha’s head, lingers in the mind. Natasha, for her part, has to duck to enter her own apartment.

The play and now the musical are an homage to the time-honoured theatrical tradition of mismatched characters thrown together in a tight spot (think Sartre’s No Exit, if you’re determined to test the limits of festive good cheer) — until, as Natasha acknowledges sardonically, they can tell their stories and discover what they have in common.

It’s a scenario that lends itself to musical theatre, especially since one of the characters is in the performance biz. Hence, Newman’s musical theatre-flavoured songs, with their witty rhymes, in which those separate stories and contrasting motives are revealed, or intersect at right angles, or eventually join as duets. An expert four-piece band led by Ryan Sigurdson accompanies the 12-song score.

Natasha is on a strict Cinderella timetable: midnight’s her deadline to arrive at the Crystal Palace, or else she’ll lose her chance to be Christmas Queen. Ted, on the other hand, “has no place to be.” His marriage is kaput. When he’s foiled by a drag queen who’s pressed Down when he’s all about going Up, he’s drinking champagne from the bottle en route to the roof to leave Christmas behind permanently, if you take my meaning.

The progression from “Christmas is the saddest time of year,” an ode to the solitary life in the surprisingly jaunty show-opening solo (a musical theatre joke?), to the sprightly reprise “Christmas is the gayest time of year” later in the show, constitutes a narrative arc in itself.The double-meaning of “everything’s looking up” bookends With Bells On!.

Dramatically speaking, Jones turns in a convincing and even endearing performance as a man who’s a downer on legs. The actor is not, however a strong singer. This sells short a lovely Newman song about the smallness of his life (‘a bed that seems to be both too big and entirely too small”). And it’s a wee bit far-fetched to make the case that Ted is falling short in singing (and vocal stage presence) in the same way he has in staying married.

Intriguingly, to the charm of the piece, the character is neither shocked by nor hostile to his outsized elevator companion, and Jones captures that, too. He’s mild-mannered, apologetic, and seems genuinely curious. Which comes in contrast to Natasha, who owns a whole arsenal of sarcastic defences. “No funny stuff!” she snaps. What’s her perfume? “It’s by Dior; it’s called None Of Your Business.”

Parsons-Lozinski as the formidable Natasha Divine (“tailored for the gods,” as she puts it) is a commanding figure, especially when lit up — great pipes with a fulsome lower range, quick and sharp comic timing, a heightened acting style, stage presence for days. It’s a performance that makes full use of drag posing and clowning, and then smartly peels away some of the showbiz makeup to reveal surprise vulnerability beneath that prickly evergreen foliage. What you can see, she informs Ted tartly, “is real. Everything else is … architecture.” And, with some vaguer gesturing below, “landscaping.”

There is fun to be had in the new musical, on this first viewing. The writing is playful and funny, the touch light. And the accoutrements, from Kolybaba’s revolving (by hand) elevator to costumes, to the party lighting by Ami Farrow, are amusing. But where the show hasn’t fully coalesced yet is narratively, where it arrives in Ted’s story. With Bells On! starts to unravel when Ted arrives at something life-affirming — or a rapprochement with the idea of being a sight gag, maybe? — through showbiz. Or performing. Natasha tells him he’s “a natural” — huh? — and his life changes. She should be an agent. Or maybe a politician. The staging of the finale number, which strands Ted onstage with little to do, could use a re-think too, perhaps. It seems a bit scattered.

It’s all about bravery, I guess, and the thought that to have fun, you need to step (or sing) outside your comfort zone, with bells on, and take a leap of faith. Make new friends, people: it helps to have someone with you who shines in the dark. A Yuletide thought if ever there was.

Meet co-writer/director Devanand Janki in this 12thnight preview.

REVIEW

With Bells On! The Musical

Theatre: Theatre Network in association with Mary J. Davis and MBL Productions and Live & In Color

Written by: Devanand Janki and Tommy Newman (book) and Tommy Newman (music and lyrics), based on the play by Darrin Hagen

Directed by: Devanand Janki

Starring: Zachary Parsons-Lozinski and Thomas Jones

Where: The Roxy Theatre, 10708 124th St.

Running: through Dec. 23

Tickets: theatrenetwork.ca