“Holiday Home-Cookin’ with the Davis clan” is one of the recently revealed surprises included in the “12 Days of Pickleville Christmas” online package being offered by the Pickleville Playhouse.
GARDEN CITY – For fans of Pickleville Playhouse, the cat is finally out of the bag.
In lieu of their traditional holiday show, the theatrical Davis family is offering their avid audience “12 Days of Pickleville Christmas,” a series of seasonal secret surprises to be delivered online every other day from Dec. 1 to 24.
Those surprises were secret until now, that is.
Headlining the video festivities will be “Big Guns & Jacques’ Christmas Caper,” a 12-episode mini-series. The show will star Pickleville’s two biggest cut-ups, Jordan Todd Brown and Slater Ashenhurst in their crowd-pleasing roles as the pint-sized Big Guns Bo Garrett and the inept arch villain Jacques Javert.
The pair will be aided and abetted by Pickleville veterans Kenzie Davis, Nathan Kremin, Hayden Davis and Cary Youmans.
Director TJ Davis says he took a holiday break from writing the mini-series, letting Brown handle that chore. Given their tendency to spontaneously ad lib, however, it’s doubtful that Brown and Ashenhurst would have stuck to the script, no matter who penned it.
Next in the line-up is an encore of “Juanito Bandito’s Christmas Carol.” Written, directed and starring TJ Davis, this video of a live performance was filmed in Salt Lake City in 2019.
Other live show videos in the “12 Days of Pickleville Christmas” package are “Love & Death vs. El Bandito” from the summer of 2017 and “Ready, Fire! Aim” from the 2016 summer season at the playhouse near Bear Lake. As always, these Pickleville productions feature original music, dancing, comedy, improv and a whole lot more (like all the hilarious culturally inappropriate rap music in “Ready, Fire! Aim”)
Next up is the ground-breaking “Holiday Home-Cookin’ with the Davis Clan,” a video cooking show for even the least culinarily-inclined. TJ Davis says this fun and useful video will teach viewers the ins and outs of making his family’s favorite recipes, with step-by-step instructions provided by download.
Also included in the “12 Days of Pickleville Christmas” is a 30-day membership in StudioFIT Online. Founded by Pickleville’s head choreographer, Sharli Davis King, StudioFIT offers daily live-streamed fitness classes along with a huge library of fitness videos that can be viewed anytime, anywhere.
Fans who register for the Davis clan’s holiday package will also have access to discounted Pickleville gift certificates.
“But wait!” says TJ Davis. “There’s more?”
Maybe, since Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a few surprises.
The virtual “12 Days of Pickleville Christmas” package is a consolation prize for northern Utah audiences, according to the madcap bard of the multi-talented and multi-generational theatrical Davis clan.
TJ Davis and his extended family have traditionally staged two shows in repertory at their rustic playhouse in Garden City over the summer and then taken other productions on the road to Logan and Salt Lake City during the winter months. Those Christmas shows from Pickleville Playhouse have been one of the highlights of the holiday season in northern Utah in recent years.
But seating restrictions due to coronavirus health concerns in the family’s usual touring venues now make live holiday performances impossible.
Instead, TJ Davis says, Pickleville fans can begin registering online for “12 Days of Pickleville Christmas” on Wednesday at https://www.happymustache.com/register-soon
The window of opportunity for that registration is from 10 a.m. on Nov. 25 through 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 30.
The first installment of the Davis’ virtual holiday package will be delivered to registrants on Dec. 1 and will continue on alternating days through Dec. 24.
“We think that ‘12 Days of Pickleville Christmas’ is going to be something really fun for families to enjoy together,” the Pickleville playwright adds. “They’ll wake up each morning during early December excited to see the next episode and hopefully enjoy it with their loved ones.”