Of course, Christmas is a time of joy, love, celebration, etc., but sometimes it can get — dare I say? — a little annoying. All that pressure to smile, feel good, be nice to the people who irritate you the most. Maybe there’s something different you could do, like, go out for Chinese food. Haunt your relatives. Stay home and read Edgar Allan Poe. The Coil Project offers another excellent option: the theater! In Strange Tales VI: The Strangest Holiday Special (N)ever, they present four playlets of terror that, though somewhat macabre, are just funny enough to send you out happily liberated from cliches, overrated songs, and products based on Wicked. Director Michael Silver keeps the tone consistent throughout — a bit of Grand Guignol, a touch of The Twilight Zone, and maybe a few scenes from the Netflix hit Black Doves, in which Ben Whishaw and others shoot people while draped in tinsel. Eric Cline as Drew in ‘Strange Tales VI’ (‘Roasting Chestnuts’). Photo by Stacey Kruml. Our Master of Scaremonies is “the Spirit of Holidays to Be — OR NOT TO BE” (Daniel Riker), clad all in black. He cheerily wishes us “Season’s BEATings!” and introduces True Crime Influencer Addison (Sarah Keisler). Just the person to put us in a holiday mood. Addison wears an off-the-shoulder shirt, a skirt, and knee-highs She sits at her monitor, putting on makeup, misleadingly perky. Her story, by Erica Smith, is called Where Is Remy Houseman? Who has, you guessed it, disappeared. He never showed up at his job at Katz’s Shipping, and owner Wilson Katz is becoming alarmed. Addison takes a quick break to promote her sponsor, jewelry designer Silver Scorpion. ADDISON: Their stuff is amazing, you guys. Handmade, custom silver jewelry — necklaces, brooches, rings, bracelets, all the good stuff. I’m wearing one of their pieces now….Boyfriend — I know, he’s a fan favorite, he says hi — Boyfriend got me something from The Silver Scorpion for Christmas, and he says I can show you guys at the end of this video! Keisler’s performance is engaging and exuberant. Suffice it to say, neither Addison nor Boyfriend are quite what they seem, and in the end, we are rewarded with a denouement that is satisfyingly spooky. TOP LEFT: Sarah Keisler as Addison (‘Where Is Remy Houseman?’). Photo by Stacey Kruml. TOP RIGHT: Amanda Zeitler Rosenke as Dolley Madison and Thomas Howley as Andrew Jackson (‘Merry Christmas, Dolley Madison’). Photo by Andrew Quilpa. ABOVE LEFT: Joseph Michael Wilson as Orbach and Jenny Oberholtzer as Ray (‘The Stars Look Very Different Today’). Photo by Stacey Kruml. ABOVE RIGHT: Daniel Riker as The Spirit (‘Master of Scaremonies’). Photo by Stacey Kruml. The next play, The Stars Look Very Different Today, by Rebecca Fischler, sports a title right out of David Bowie’s Space Oddity (1969) and is set, of course, in a galaxy far, far away. Orbach (Joseph Wilson) and Ray (Jenny Oberholtzer) are sentries at a station, working for the mysterious (and very corporate) Firm. Orbach, the new recruit, is nervous and sincere; Ray, who has been there forever, is grizzled and cynical. At first, it seems they are simply co-workers who get on each other’s nerves. But something much more dangerous is going on. They are facing The Threshold, a portal that is an entry point to another world — but no one knows what is behind it. Ray, a Christian, prays to Holy Mary it will not harm them. The nontraditional Orbach, whose god is called the Sovereign, believes that the Second Coming is at hand. Will they be saved? Are they doomed? Who knows? Suddenly, the Threshold just … stops. Orbach is optimistic — maybe they will just go through. Ray doesn’t think so: RAY: Look kid, you can believe whatever bizarre eldritch bullshit you want, but the g-forces around that thing would reduce any object smaller than the moon to a cloud of fine particulates … we can’t go through it because we can’t get anywhere near it. No one could. Wilson’s Orbach and Oberholtzer’s Ray develop an understated camaraderie, which keeps them going — just — when the crisis hits. Merry Christmas, Dolley Madison is by Michael Silver, who also directs. We meet three ghosts, Dolley Madison (Amanda Zeitler Rosenke), Abigail Adams (Elizabeth Darby), and Andrew Jackson (Thomas Howley), who live, naturally enough, in the White House. They are preparing for the night when, it seems, a window will open and they will be able to speak with departed loved ones. Their reviews of their fellow phantoms are mixed, to say the least. Abigail calls Jackson “a slave trader, an annihilator, and a bully.” Jackson calls Lincoln “a gibfaced troglodyte.” The social and well-mannered Dolley is quietly infuriated with Jackson, who is constantly interrupting her. Each had their own difficulties in real life. Abigail Adams (1744–1818) had a daughter who died in infancy. Dolley Madison (1768–1849) witnessed the burning of the White House. Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) was imprisoned by the British during the American Revolution at the age of 13. Howley as Jackson is entertainingly belligerent. Darby’s Adams, appalled to be stuck doing laundry in the afterlife, is sustained by her love for her husband. Rosenke as Dolley Madison has strength, sophistication, and a sure sense of her own worth. The episode ends with a kind of coda, which unites past and present. Roasting Chestnuts by Andy De brings us Drew (Eric Cline) and a disembodied Voice (Leanne Dinverno). Drew plans to hook up with a local bartender while his wife is out of town. The Voice, in Baby Reindeer style, alternately taunting and playing with him, has some, shall we say, unusual plans for him. And the bartender Neve too. Cline is bemused by the Voice at first — then sardonic, then frightened. Dinverno as the Voice executes a shocking act that has life-and-death consequences. Their Christmas pas de deux is full of mixed messages, missed signals, and dread. She tests his knowledge of movie trivia (limited), his ability to withstand pain (nonexistent), and his belief in himself as a (well, not really) essentially good person. It is a mystifying and ultimately deadly dance. Daniel Riker as the Spirit has a series of monologues (by Andrew Quilpo) as he introduces each play. He is funny, sometimes scary, and the not-exactly-jovial host we need. He can even croon, “SLAY-bells ring, are you listening?” (Well, maybe some of the jokes are a little over the top.) Sound Designer Taylor Stewart brings us some cheerful holiday music and some that turns dark, as though the stylus had been ripped off a record player. The set, designed by Rebecca Fischler, is simple and versatile; Fischler’s costumes have some clever touches, like blood on an apron (we won’t say whose). Lighting Designer Demetrius Sadler and Fight Choreographer Patrick Mullen add their talents to the (occasionally murderous) madness. It’s fun, it’s frightful, it’s horror-oriented — it’s Strange Tales. Santa Claus is coming, the Coil Project says, for you. Don’t forget to hit Like and Subscribe. Running Time: Approximately 90 minutes, no intermission. Strange Tales VI: The Strangest Holiday Special (N)ever plays Fridays and Saturdays through December 21, 2024, presented by The Coil Project performing at Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW), 545 7th Street SE, Washington, DC. Tickets ($25 plus fees) are available online. Strange Tales Directed by Michael Silver Master of Scaremonies by Andrew Quilpo The Spirit: Daniel Riker Where Is Remy Houseman? by Erica Smith Addison: Sarah Keisler Wilson: Andrew Quilpo The Stars Look Very Different Today by Rebecca Fischler Orbach: Joseph Wilson Ray: Jenny Oberholtzer Merry Christmas, Dolley Madison by Michael Silver Dolley Madison: Amanda Zeitler Rosenke Abigail Adams: Elizabeth Darby Andrew Jackson: Thomas Howley Roasting Chestnuts by Andy De Drew: Eric Cline Voice: Leanne Dinverno PRODUCTION Producer: Stacey Kruml Stage Manager, Set & Costume Designer: Rebecca Fischler Lighting Designer: Demetrius Sadler Sound Designer: Taylor Stewart Fight Choreographer: Patrick Mullen