The Eight, by Jeff Goode, is a wickedly fun script that is a mix of A Chorus Line and the film The Usual Suspects (just look at the poster art).  Goode’s tales are eight monologues delivered by "The Eight", Santa’s elite flying reindeer force.  In a police-style interview, the deer give their views on whether Santa is guilty of the sexual misconduct of which he is accused.

It opens with Goriola Olufon, as The Man, interviewing Dasher.  Jeremy Lister’s Dasher is a gruff, Teamster-esque guy, who endeavors to see past the accusations and save the spirit of the holiday and Santa’s reputation.  Lister, as the first deer, sets the tone for the piece.  We understand this is going to be a serious play, darkly humorous.  Without scenery, but effective furniture and set dressing by Nicolas Thornburg, it is apparent that the focus will be on the captivating performances of the deer.  We notice that

the deer smoke, curse, mug, and even have hooves instead of hands.

Fortunately, Jordan Noble as Cupid grabs the audience fully and lures us in for the kill.  His fey Cupid is wonderfully characterized.  From every step, glance, and pause, Noble has fine tuned his performance with amazing results.  I wish I would see him in something outside of the ODU/40th envelope, he’s ready.   Always a pleasure to watch, Michael Joyner is the former bad-fawn, Comet.  Clean, energetic, captivating, this is the first time I’ve seen Joyner since Fully Committed at the Generic.  Eileen P. Quintin gets the Red Bull award for her chatterbox Dancer.  Perhaps the most tightly written monologue in the script, Quintin takes what could be an easy ditz and finds her serious side.  Her piece nicely comes full circle and leaves you feeling very satisfied with that moment. 

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Jonathan Ward portrays Prancer, aka “Hollywood” in what could also be another stellar performance; however,

Ward seems to be holding back.

Frankie Little Hardin, who directed the play, portrayed Blitzen.  Her casting of this show is very well done, and her choices are solid.  The blocking is clear and varied enough for what could be a boring box play.  The pace moves along very well and kept me entertained the whole night.  It would be easy to get bogged down in the debate over whether Santa did or didn’t do what he is accused of, but Hardin reminds us of the real issue beyond the backstories just enough to not overdo it.

Goriola Olufon has the difficult part of having few lines and being used as a prop.  Instead of becoming part of the audience, he is effectively able to do nothing.  That’s much harder than it seems.  His character really listens to the deer, and through various nods, snorts, and body language, is able to fully interact with them and to them.  Finally, Melissa Blue wraps up the show with an excellent performance as Vixen.  After hearing endlessly about “the incident”, she enters and succinctly grabs the audience by the bells.  While a shorter monologue, or maybe it just seemed that way as I was captivated, Blue delivers a solid, mature performance and perfectly caps the show.

The Eight is not for children, but if you are tired of standard holiday fare, the 40th, once again, has just the show for you to see.