`JACKSON FROST' A CHILLER OF A HOLIDAY `THRILLER'.Byline: - Evan Henerson You know you're in a groove when your title alone gets people rolling eyes, shaking heads and cracking grins all at the same time. ``Jackson Frost: A Holiday Fable With Music From Jacksons A-Z'' may not have the same thespian zing as some of the company's Shakespeare titles, but both signal the same glad tidings  Glad Tidings is a free Bible magazine published monthly by the Christadelphians (Brethren in Christ). : the return of the Troubadour troubadourOne of a class of lyric poets and poet-musicians, often of knightly rank, that flourished from the 11th through the 13th century, chiefly in Provence and other regions of southern France, northern Spain, and northern Italy. Theatre Company, aka the antidote to holiday boredom, aka the one Christmas show that should never, ever be bypassed. Why not? Because director Matt Walker, his gang of cutups and the Troubadour Orchestra are too hilarious to be ignored. Because you won't find many a company where the same skills used to put together a madcap musical adaptation are just as easily employed for vamping and trolling (1) Surfing, or browsing, the Web. (2) Posting derogatory messages about sensitive subjects on newsgroups and chat rooms to bait users into responding. (3) Hanging around in a chat room without saying anything, like a "peeping tom." for laughs when things fall apart. And because, through expert choreography, artful lyric tweaking tweaking Vox populi Fine-tuning to produce optimal results and Eric Heinly's kickin' orchestra, the Troubies make the music of Michael Jackson Noun 1. Michael Jackson - United States singer who began singing with his four brothers and later became a highly successful star during the 1980s (born in 1958) Michael Joe Jackson, Jackson actually rock. Recounting the plot of ``Jack Frost Jack Frost personification of winter. [Pop. Culture: Misc.] See : Winter ,'' the 1979 Rankin and Bass animated TV special about the prince of winter who gives being human a try, the Troubies cut and paste To move an object from one location to another. When the operation is complete, there is nothing left in the original location. It may refer to relocating files from one folder to another or to relocating selected text or images from one document to another. in songs from Janet Jackson, Freddie Jackson, the Jackson Five, Joe Jackson, Jackson Browne and -- of course -- about three-fourths of the ``Thriller'' album. This time around, many of the songs have been left substantially lyrically intact, perhaps on the assumption that Jacko and his legal team have more crucial things to worry about than an affectionate parody. Well, maybe not entirely affectionate. Jackson Frost's (played by Michelle Anne Johnson) romp with his dim-bulb beloved Elissa (Audrey Siegel) has a touch of meanness to it, and the plastic surgery and Botox addiction jokes -- well, how could you skip them -- get to be a bit much. < Nor can Walker, playing the villainous Krubla Krause, resist dangling his little metal puppet buddy, Domi, over his mountain lair a la M.J.'s 2002 baby stunt in Berlin. ``Now there's a cliffhanger cliff·hang·er n. 1. A melodramatic serial in which each episode ends in suspense. 2. A suspenseful situation occurring at the end of a chapter, scene, or episode. 3. ,'' Walker says. Siegel sparkles as the object of positively everybody's lust. Christine Lakin has several scene-stealing moments as Holly, the fairy rival for Jackson's affections, and Beth Kennedy's stick-fingered Winter Warlock, who appeared in ``Santa Claus Is Coming to Motown'' two seasons ago -- makes a welcome return as Father Winter. Yes, the Troubies recycle on occasion, but the yuletide gods be praised that their irreverence keeps returning with the foul weather. JACKSON FROST - Three and one half stars Where: Falcon Theatre, 4252 Riverside Drive, Burbank. When: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday; through Dec. 30. Tickets: $25 to $37.50. (818) 955-8101 In a nutshell: With several musical Jacksons in their satiric cross hairs, the Troubies are back to spike the holiday punch. |
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