Plucky Pringle, a male elf, has a secret crush on Santa while the female elf, Fiona is crushing on Mrs. Claus. Meanwhile, the elves must save Christmas from evil twins in a battle of rockets and property law.
“Gay as Christmas,” a staged reading of a comedy written by film and theatre professor Scott Sublett, is premiering at the Hammer Theatre on Thursday, Dec. 5.
A cast including five San Jose State students, an experienced actress who plays Mrs. Claus and a recent graduate of SJSU star in the staged reading.
The comedy includes satire and farcical humor about capitalism, while telling a story about the reality some LGBTQ+ people may face during the holidays.
“Huge entertainment conglomerates with phalanxes of lawyers appropriate folk culture all over the world, so this play is about the people appropriating it back – specifically, the gay people doing some appropriating of their own,” Sublett said.
The story of “Gay as Christmas” is a satirical twist on how capitalist culture has corrupted the traditions of Christmas and how the elves revive the spirit of the holiday in a modern and inclusive way.
A college campus is meant to be inclusive and open for everyone, but at SJSU, there have been incidents that
prove differently.
Sublett noticed the “Gay as Christmas” posters were torn down from the walls in Hugh Gillis Hall the day after they were displayed. Some posters were even scribbled on with obscene words.
“I felt it was swept under the rug,” Sublett said. He reported the incident to SJSU’s Title IX office and was told hate speech is common on campus.
“Someone said to me, ‘If your play was titled ‘Black as Christmas’ and this had happened, there would have been a much bigger response, and I said, ‘It’s not a contest, but you’re right that people think it’s more okay to mock or attack gay people, as opposed to other minorities,” Sublett said.
Not every family is accepting of LGBTQ+ values and when anyone who identifies as LGBTQ+ is home for the holidays, they can feel left out, uncomfortable or unwanted.
Sublett wrote the play to show that no one is alone in these circumstances.
“A lot of LGBTQ people are forced to be different around their families, and they don’t get much sympathy for that from activists who judge the gays who feel they have to stay in the closet,” Sublett said.
The play “Gay as Christmas” is important to Sublett because he believes LGBTQ+ theater is something that has to be nurtured because it makes people feel less alone.
Theatre arts senior Kalyn McKenzie is an actor in the play and said she feels a deep connection to the story because she faced discrimination for being gay.
“It’s important to tell this story because everybody deserves to feel loved and included and that is exactly what Christmas is about,” McKenzie said. “Love should be celebrated no matter the size, color or gender.”
Although “Gay as Christmas” is a staged reading, the actors will be in costume and the audience can enjoy a play about love, comedy and the inclusiveness of Christmas.
“A staged reading is a phase in the development process of a play – a chance for an audience to hear it and for the author to see what works and what doesn’t,” Sublett said. “It’s kind of exciting for the writer.”
Theatre arts junior Kevin Luong auditioned for “Gay as Christmas” because of his love for comedy and his interest in SJSU’s previous performances, “In the Heights” and “Urinetown.”
“This is my first semester being casted in a school play and I hope to blow everyone’s expectations away,”
Luong said.
Sublett and his cast are set to share “Gay as Christmas” with San Jose for the first time on Thursday. “It’s for the queers, it’s for the lonely people and it’s for the misfit toys,” he said.
