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Live from Station XMAS at the Ancon Theater
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Local playwright, lots of fun in this year's Theatre Guild Christmas show

a review by Eric Jackson

Live from Station XMAS

written by Theresa Apple

music by Charles Todd Apple and Theresa Apple

directed by Charles Todd Apple

produced by Rosario Barrera

with Theresa Apple, Aviva Cohen, Billy Shyne, Tara Sue Moncada, Julie Wong, Charlotte Arnoux, Luis Zúñiga, Ana Lorena Quijano, Bernard Callaghan, Mary Richards, Gabriel García de Paredes, Bernardo Ordás Guardia, Elsa Maria Herrera, Nicole Novey, Brendon Shyne, Leo Cheng, Logan Apple, Kathryn Nerys Apple, Maria Laura Herrera, Rudy Bissot

So was that demand for $500,000 and a flight to Rio a union leader's pathetic miscalculation, or was it the brilliant whizbang that made Santa cough up a French Riviera vacation in labor negotiations with his militant elves' syndicate? And is your take on who was and who wasn't negotiating in good faith anything more objective than your basic social allegiance toward labor or management?

This year's Theatre Guild of Ancon's Christmas play again relies on the English-language cultural organization's solid alliance with the drama and music programs at the International School of Panama, with students or faculty playing most of the roles. It's a good relationship for all concerned, and the kids and teachers did well enough on opening night.

Ah, but in this reviewer's opinion the show stealing scene was Guild regular Bernard Callaghan's Santa as Elvis impersonator, and the most solid overall performance was by the musical trio of Tara Sue Moncada, Julie Wong and Charlotte Arnoux. But then, according to the long ago observations of a drama major ex-wife, these would merely be the opinions of someone whose sense of taste is located entirely in his mouth.

However, there was more general agreement that this year's Christmas play was a lot of fun.

You can still catch Live from Station XMAS at its December 21 and 22 performances, which begin at 7 p.m.