That's Forked Up

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More About

• Christmas
• Rob Ready
• Arlen Hart
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media

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The dramatic tension in a holiday play might be palpable (will Christmas be saved?), but its outcome is usually about as predictable as that of a sports movie (slow-motion, game-winning play) or a French art film (main character dies, shot of a river, Fin). But what if you — the plural you, the audience — wants a different ending? Shouldn't you be able to vote on such a thing? At Forking II: A Merry Forking Christmas, you (plural) can. PianoFight has scripted numerous plot turns and endings, and the cast has rehearsed each one. The play takes place in a shopping mall on Christmas Eve; characters include the mall Santa (who deals pot on the side), a pianist (played by Arlen Hart, who wrote and performs the score), a cookie seller, a bride who's been stood up, a security guard, and a mortician. Depending on how the audience votes, Forking II has about 10 forks. Director Rob Ready says some decisions are foregone conclusions: Should the mall flasher flash the horrible customer? (Yes!) Others, not so much: Should the cookie seller lie, or reveal that her baked goods are laced with marijuana? Ready says even the darkest of the possible endings include some good with the bad, but “If you're not feeling Christmas, you can vote Christmas down.”
Dec. 9-12; Dec. 15-19; Dec. 21-23; Dec. 26-30, 2010