The Christmas play you didn’t know you need: ‘How to Survive Your Family at Christmas’

Reno Little Theater’s most recent production, “How to Survive Your Family at Christmas,” is not the how-to survival guide you may want, or that may be implied in the title.

But it is full of moral lessons people just might need, more than eggnog, for the holidays.

Set in 1975, the patriarch of the family, Jerry Nutt (played by James Winkler), is steeped in Archie Bunker sentimentality – a brash, bigoted worldview unsupported by the facts around him.

He claims for example, without evidence, his daughter studying at Harvard turned her into a progressive, Communist lesbian.

None of which is true, but that doesn’t put a damper on proceeding hell-bent into his self-styled “connect-the-dots” conspiracies.

Had the play been set in 2022, as the audience will surely relate, Nutt’s character would not be unsurprising, but for a play set in 1975, the character represents a foreshadowing of faulty thinking prescient in today’s civic discourse. Nutt is cringey and dogmatic about most things, including hats (he runs a small business that sells hats). He also plots to terrorize Christmas carolers, whom he deems inferior members of the human race.

Nutt’s character is tempered by the often goofy, but always well-intentioned Mrs. Nutt, played by Claudia Cortez. Both actors keep the plot moving and the audience entertained.

Nutt’s daughter, Loretta, played by B Falk, is embarrassed by her parents’ working-class roots and understanding of the world as she avoids coming back home from Harvard for the holidays. A love affair changes things in a big way, however.

“The style of the play is absurd realism,” said Director Yassi Jahanmirin in an online video promoting the play. “It’s this really zany, strange over-the-top-show show that feels really real in terms of the story it’s telling.”

It’s also a heart-warming, family-friendly comedy.

The production centers around atonement and forgiveness – a Catholic priest, played by Ryan Corrigan, is a central figure. The plot twists are surprising, perhaps even shocking, but the three carolers, played by Brian Ault, Jackie Green and James Vigil, through song and sound effects, maintain comedic relief throughout the two-hour production.

Expect laughs, a few tears and reminders to take it easy on one another for the holidays. We’re all fallible, and we can also rise above deficiencies through better understanding and surrendering one’s ego.