A Uniquely Festive Take on ‘Carol’

Camp, camp and more camp--what else would you expect from “A gay Christmas Carol”?

Another outrageous holiday comedy from the producers of “Christmas With the Crawfords,” Claudia Allen’s broad parody at the Hudson Avenue Theatre re-envisions Scrooge (Tony Frankel) as a sour closet-dweller (“I’m not gay--I’m not even happy”) who finds liberation from his miserly ways through--need you ask?--the recognition of his long-repressed homosexuality.

He’s aided in this revelation by the ghost of his business partner (Byron “Diva” Batista), tragically felled in a hair-dryer mishap. Requisite spirit visitations are from archetypal drag-queen icons Judy Garland (Julie Sheppard) and Bette Midler (Amber J. Lawson); both actresses strut their stuff with gusto, sporting strong singing voices.

Frankel plays Scrooge relatively, um, straight--his understated delivery is an effective foil for surrounding excesses. In impeccable comic characterizations, Maile Flanagan portrays Scrooge’s nephew, sister, fundamentalist foster parent from hell, and a leather-clad Baby Dyke who fetches the turkey pa^te from the corner deli. The fate of Tiny Tim (over-the-top Brian C. Bethel) lies in Scrooge’s hands--without friendship, the spirits reveal, all Tim’s tap-dancing lessons will come to naught--he’ll end up hanging himself with a pink feather boa.

As Scrooge’s oppressed lesbian employee, Bobbi Cratchit, Angela Nicholas supplies an engagingly perky sincerity. Gregory Balaban and Kevin Vavasseur provide the supporting characters.

In the intended spirit, Steven Benson seems to have directed with a cattle prod--this isn’t an evening for refined sensibilities, but it hits the mark with its target audience.

BE THERE

“A gay Christmas Carol,” Hudson Avenue Theatre, 6537 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Thursdays, Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 8 and 10 p.m.; Sundays 3 and 7 p.m. Additional show Jan. 1 at 10 p.m., dark Dec. 25 and 31. Ends Jan. 3. $20-$22. (323) 856-4200. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.