"O Come All Ye Faithful" Review

 There's nothing like the warm, cozy, red and green feeling of excitement that a good cup of Christmas cheer makes you feel. A holiday season filled with shiny ribboned presents, illuminated Christmas trees, hot cocoa, Santa Claus and holiday traditions. However, what would Christmas be without your problematic family?

   Rand Ringgenberg's "O Come All Ye Faithful" is a one-act play that got its world premier at NEIU's Stage Center Theatre. It was a full production with costumes, props, sound, lighting and set. Everything on the stage seemed to gleam a beautiful red and green while the spirit of Christmas seemed to happily bounce around from character to character. The audience really got into the play. There were peals of laughter erupting here and there, as well as the occasional "aww…" that people said when the play seemed to hit a soft spot.

   I highly recommend "O Come All Ye Faithful" as a cute, heart-warming play to anyone that enjoys the excitement of family and celebrations during the holiday season. Initially, I wasn't sure what to make of the play by just reading title, other than it had something to do with Christmas. Yet, the sibling rivalry and humor were enjoyable, bringing out touchy topics such as religion, sexuality, family tradition and personal values.

   As soon as I saw the set for "O Come All Ye Faithful," my heart must have grown five sizes bigger with happiness; by the end of the show, it made me glad that, despite all of the headaches my family gives me, they are still my family. As Donkey from Shrek's "Shrek the Halls" said, "My momma used to always say Christmas ain't Christmas till somebody cries."

   If I had to rate "O Come All Ye Faithful" either naughty or nice, I'd gladly reward the cast, crew and playwright with everything they wanted for Christmas. The production of this play was well put together, and the characters were so believable that I had to remind myself they weren't an actual blood related family on a Christmas Eve. I'm very glad I got to see and experience the feeling of Christmas with "O Come All Ye Faithful."

   Congratulations to the cast, crew, production staff, director, and playwright of "The Gedanken Experiment" and "O Come All Ye Faithful" on a successful and awesome show night as well as a full house. I look forward to future productions from the Stage Center Theatre!