by Alan Jozwiak
Know Theatre’s latest world premiere Die Hard is a Christmas Movie is now playing in OTR in time for you to weigh in. There is an ongoing debate among moviegoers as to their favorite holiday films. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, The Grinch, and It’s a Wonderful Life top the list.
The Plot of the Movie
However, there are those who root for the 1988 Bruce Willis film Die Hard. The film is set during a Christmas eve party in a Lost Angeles high rise office tower which gets taken over by terrorists. Bruce Willis saves the day, kills at least a dozen bad guys, saves his estranged wife, and tries not to blow up too much of the high rise office tower in the process.
Obviously, your typical Christmas movie. But is it a holiday movie? Check at the end of this review for my thoughts on the issue.
The backdrop of Die Hard is the basis of Die Hard is a Christmas Movie, by local playwrights and Know regulars A.J. Baldwin and Alexx Rouse.
The Plot of the Play
The plot of the play revolves around assuming that Die Hard the film was based on actual events that were first turned into a book by ex-cop turned writer Mack (Phineas Clark). (I won’t spoil the book’s title because it is one of the more charming bits within the play). Mack has been six months on the road as part of his book tour and is ready to return back to his Los Angeles home to be with his estranged wife Bonnie (Beasley) and their two children Mack Jr. (Andrew Ian Adams) and Lane (Alexx Rouse).
To cement Mack’s homecoming and prevent their parents from divorcing, Mack J. and Lane devise a complicated plot where they hire some Germans to pretend to kidnap their mother so as to force their father to rescue her. The only problem is that the Germans want the royalty checks Mack has been accumulating in his absence and threaten to blow up the house with the family inside once they get the checks.
It is at this point that the plot begins echoing the movie Die Hard.
Creative Team
Director Tatiana Godfrey knows how to keep the laughter going within this play and the play moves at a good pace. She also gives her actors free reign to improvise and play into their strengths. Godfrey even plants little comedic Easter eggs within the production for additional laughs. I loved the ones which come when we see the projection of the limousine driving. Kudos to Sound and Projections Designer Douglas J. Borntrager for being so inventive.
Performers
Godfrey assembles an amazing versatile and comedic cast to tell this story. Leading the pack is the Bruce Willis stand-in Mack, played by Phineas Clark. The secret to Clark’s performance is that he plays Mack completely straight, letting himself be the straight-man for the humor surrounding him. It allows us to laugh at the absurdity of the situation while still taking it seriously as a story. Phineas Clark is perfect for playing Mack and he fully commits to the role. Perhaps one of Clarks’ funniest bits comes while moving from one point in his house to another through the house vents. Those scenes were delightful.
The rest of the cast is also funny in their own right. Beasley plays the dual roles of Mack’s wife Bonnie and Mack’s next door neighbor Al. They are quite funny in both roles. Also strong is Andrew Ian Adams and Alexx Rouse, who play the children and the villains. Adams shines bright as the villainous Hans who has an over-the-top death scene not to be missed. Rouse makes the best of all of the henchmen that she plays.
While this show offers plenty of laughs, many of the laughs are dependent on the audience either having seen the movie and/or knowing the movie intimately. I would advise you to watch the movie before seeing this show to get all the references to the movie.
Overall
As with all world premiers, the script needs some work in the second act and the inclusion of a summary of the movie earlier in the first act to remind audience members of the movie’s plot. Despite these things, Die Hard is a Christmas Movie is definitely a holiday offering that delights. The strong acting and strong humor of the cast make for a warm and wonderful evening of theatre.
And yes, Virginia, Die Hard is really a Christmas movie. It is a movie unlike any other Christmas movie and deserves a special place in the pantheon of great holiday films. It’s the only Christmas movie I know of that has a body count.
Tickets to Die Hard is a Christmas Movie
Die Hard is a Christmas Movie is running December 6 to 22, 2024 at Know Theatre Cincinnati. Click here for tickets. Rated: PG-13. Running time: 1 hour and 45 minutes + intermission.
