Christmas is about peace and love and enjoying one's family. Unless, that is, you and your mother-in-law have a cobra-and-mongoose relationship.
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That's the situation now at the Rainbow Dinner Theatre as it brings back to its stage "Peace, Love & My Mother-In-Law."
An original comedy written by Concetta and Maria Gerardi, with the Rainbow's own Cindy DiSavino, the show is set in the home of newlyweds Crystal (Julie Connors) and Jack (Craig A. Smith), who have invited both sets of parents to help them celebrate their first Christmas as man and wife.
The problem is, Jack and his mother-in-law, Peggy (Cindy DiSavino), got off to a bad start when she accidently walked in on his bachelor party and found a belly dancer, which she thought was most inappropriate.
She doesn't know, nor has anyone told her, the dancer was hired by her own husband, Harry (David DiSavino). Harry and Jack's father, Andrew (Gerry Konjura), both fled when she arrived.
The mother-in-law/son-in-law relationship went downhill from there, and now that they are thrown together on Christmas Eve, things get worse.
Crystal wants Jack to make nice, even to the point of having him re-hang Peggy's wedding gift — a hand-stitched picture with the somewhat sobering words "God is Watching."
Jack hates the gift, especially since Peggy made it to hang over their bed. (Peggy considers this a family tradition since her own mother gave one to her and Harry, which Harry claims to have given to his cousin, a monk, who was going off to live in a monastery, when in fact he simply got rid of it.)
Now, the family is all together in Jack and Crystal's apartment while, outside, a snowstorm ensures that they will be cooped up together for the next 24 hours
Almost immediately, Jack and Peggy are exchanging veiled insults and playing practical jokes on each other. The culmination comes during a game of charades, pitting the guys against the girls, when Jack, a broomstick between his legs, uses Peggy as the main clue for the TV show "Bewitched."
The guys love it and win; the gals hate it, and all couples end up arguing between themselves.
Merry Christmas. Bah, humbug!
Yet, by the time the snowstorm is over and the roads are plowed, the spirit of family and love has won out — helped along by Peggy finding out who actually hired the belly dancer, as well as a not-too-surprising announcement by Crystal — and all ends well.
Revamped and updated since its Rainbow debut in 2000, this show is pure holiday delight, with family dynamics to which most of us can relate, at least in part.
The DiSavinos are always funny, and it is good to see them both back on stage doing what they do best — relating to each other as a married couple.
Konjura also is back, reprising his role as Andrew. There is something about the ever-funny Konjura that makes me smile every time he walks on stage.
The show also is blessed to have Smith in the lead role as Jack. Since his debut at the Rainbow in "The Perfect Wedding" in 2005, when I said he did a "creditable job," Smith has evolved into a fine actor with the ability to elicit laughs, not just with dialogue, but with a wide range of expressions and gestures.
But I think my award for best performance goes to Casey Allyn as Marion, Jack's lovingly daffy mother, who is just discovering the 21st century with her cell phone and her new computer that allows her to spend the day "goggling," or rather, Googling.
Every one of us has a Marion in our lives.
"Peace, Love & My Mother-In-Law" is as cozy as a cup of warm cocoa, and if indeed, God is watching, he is probably laughing.
The show runs through Dec. 29.
lalexander@lnpnews.com
