It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and for over two decades now that also means an onslaught of new holiday films from The Hallmark Channel. Some folks plan their whole holiday season around watching the new releases and rewatching old favourites. And for those folks, The Unauthorized Hallmark(ish) Parody Musical, directed by Tim Drucker, is the perfect holiday theatre outing. With fun songs and a very self-aware script, Hallmark(ish) perfectly embodies its source material while also blatantly poking fun at it, always ensuring that the audience is in on the joke.

If you’ve even encountered one of those Hallmark films, you’ll know the plot of Hallmark(ish): there’s a young, single woman (or sometimes engaged but to the wrong guy) who lives in the big city. She returns to her quaint hometown over the holidays, where she reunites with an old flame (who usually has some sort of tragic story of how they became widows), they fall in love, and they live happily ever after. Sometimes the old flame ends up being a Prince, sometimes the mayor is really Santa, they’re all variations on a theme. However, Drucker and Bonnie Milligan’s script is very conscious of this fact, and of public perception of these films, and they use it to turn Hallmark(ish) into a celebration of every cliché which makes those films so beloved.

Truly nothing was off-limits for Drucker and Milligan, with simple names like Big City and Small Town for the locales and picking the common threads from many of the films to create this one. I loved that the main character’s name is Holly Mark, with her mother obviously then being Merry, and her love interest is named Mark Hall; it’s so silly and yet so perfect. However I also love that the only gay character was a side-kick for the villain (the lack of queer representation in those movies has been noted for years), and that the father who’s been absent happens to have a more North-Pole Centric job. These tropes are the basis upon which these films have gained both popularity and notoriety. And this is clearly reflected in the audience’s reactions to the show; the laughter is contagious and you can tell that there are many folks who are getting the inside jokes.

Hallmark(ish) has a fun and talented cast bringing this holiday delight to life. Alexandra Clementi stars as Holly; her soaring vocals and comedic timing make her the perfect fit for the classic Hallmark leading lady. Sean Meldrum plays opposite Clementi as Mark, the hometown hunk. At the performance I attended one of the audience members spoke out and he handled it so well, it created a whole new inside joke for him to use throughout the end sequences. I loved Emily Richardson as Merry – she’s that perfect combo of perky and slightly unhinged and she plays it so well (she also broke when that lady called out and it made for a whole other show within the show). Heidi Michelle Thomas’s Cookie is every bit the baddie we love to cheer for! Her stage presence is undeniable and she’s just so much fun to watch. Levi Stepp and Alyssa Lyn play various characters throughout the play, spreading the holiday cheer in each scene. However, Luke Witt steals the show for me as Cody/Martha, and many others. He switches between characters at the drop of a hat, each one donning a new wig and costume. His Martha becomes a total boss babe while Cody is fabulously fierce and Witt plays it all with a smile.

The Unauthorized Hallmark(ish) Parody Musical is perfect for the Hallmark Movie lover in your life, as long as they have a good sense of humour about the films. Packed with laughs, catchy tunes, and a surprisingly uplifting ending, Hallmark(ish) is the perfect way to celebrate the season.

The Unauthorized Hallmark(ish) Parody Musical runs at the Royal Theatre until January 4. For more information and tickets, visit: https://hallmarkish.com/toronto/

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Cover Photo: Alyssa Lyn, Luke Witt, Alexandra Clementi, Heidi Michelle Thomas, Emily Richardson, Sean Meldrum, and Levi Stepp. Photo by Door 24.

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