If Santa checks his list twice to see who’s naughty and nice after seeing “Oy Vey in a Manger” at the D.C. Jewish Community Center’s Theater J, it’s a cinch he’ll decide the Kinsey Sicks, who perform “Oy Vey,” are naughty. The four men dressed as women who make up the Kinsey Sicks take delight in going out of their way to be naughty. And outrageous. Even scandalous. The Kinsey Sicks, who call themselves a Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet, deliver a variety of a cappella songs in all their shows. In “Oy Vey,” those songs are built around Christmas/Hanukkah themes. The premise is that the four women, two Christians and two Jews, live together in a manger previously occupied by a family named Christ.
| IF YOU GO |
| ‘Oy Vey in a Manger’ |
| » Where: Theater J, 1529 16th St. NW |
| » When: 7:30 p.m. Wed., Thurs.; 8 p.m. Sat.; 3 and 7:30 p.m. Sun. through Jan. 2 |
| » Info:$35-$60, 800-494-8497, theaterj.org |
Because of financial troubles, they need to sell the scruffy manger fast and are waiting for prospective buyers to arrive. Signs for “Open House” and “For Sale by Owner” flank the stage.
As they clean up the messy living room, Trampolina (Spencer Brown), Winnie (Irwin Keller), Trixie (Jeff Manabat) and Rachel (Ben Schatz) sing a variety of songs with familiar tunes but words that lean toward lascivious.
There’s a number about “Lusty the Snowman,” for instance, and a transfigured “O Holy Night” that becomes “O What a Night,” Trampolina’s signature song as she narrates what it was like to be in a porn film. There’s a version of “Where the Boys Are” translated into “Where the Goys Are” and a rousing chorus of “Have Yourself A Harried Little Christmas.”
The musical styles range from rock ‘n’ roll to barbershop to doo-wop to opera, the last beautifully sung by Manabat, who has a rich, gorgeously modulated voice. At times Brown, Schatz and Manabat sing while Keller provides a steady bass beat. But whatever style they sing in, the four characters remain perfectly integrated, their delivery flawless.
The seedy-looking living room the girls inhabit includes a couch, a clothes rack, two chairs, a picture of Jesus Christ and little else.
But what the set lacks in detail is more than made up for in the Kinsey Sicks’ outrageous costumes and wigs. Trampolina appears in a short purple sun-dress, the skirt flounced, her hair in an impossibly high bee-hive. Rachel is dressed in a red and black polka-dot dress with a huge bow on her dark hair. Winnie wears a 1950s-style green dress, little cape and pearls. Trixie wears a slinky yellow and black number, her black hair teased high.
There are lots of references to current events and recognizable people: Betty White, Karen Carpenter, Eva Longoria, Bobby McFerrin and Divine are invoked, to name a few. And there’s even a bit of bawdy audience participation, all done in the spirit of satire, the sort of spicy, tongue-in-cheek humor that aims at revealing how impossible it is for people to really understand one another.
It’s that humor — and the music, of course — that has allowed the Kinsey Sicks to survive for almost 17 years. If the response they got from the audience on opening night at Theater J was any measure, they’ll be around mocking and commenting on the world through song for a long time to come.
