Christmas in Hell

See it if What an amazing show! Unexpectedly funny, great singing and acting. Little Devon (the main character) was simply brilliant!

Don't see it if PG13 due to the some language

See it if You want some fun mindless fluff. Interesting staging, they do a lot with a little (I always like to see that), plus a couple great songs.

Don't see it if You’re expecting a perfectly polished fully conceived show. This is a show from the Fringe Festival that’s gotten the star treatment.

See it if you want a good dose of humor around a simple story w/ basic but hilarious songs told with flashbacks, good musicians & great costumes/hair.

Don't see it if you are not up for some raunchy humor, don't like casting in multiple roles, don't want to spend nearly 2 hours on a simple plot and songs.

See it if good satire of Christmas specials & religion; songs w clever lyrics; amusing over-the-top performances

Don't see it if has stereotypical cartoon characters; voices generally substandard; features un-melodic patter songs; saccharine ending: love conquers all

See it if You like off-color, non-traditonal Christmas shows. You're interested in seeing new musicals. You want a gr8 performance from Elijah Rayman.

Don't see it if You want modern and/ or edgy humor:lots of passe jokes & not as subversive as it thinks it is. You want a better bad musical ala Mormon...

Also It's hard to parody a bad musical w/out becoming a bad musical. Some times it works here; most times it doesn't. Despite a few good numbers & performances, overall, it's just OK.... Read more Read less

See it if The singing was excellent, many great very enjoyable song that were perfectly performed.

Don't see it if You won't enjoy a silly show about the devil, Hell, etc. The one song I did not enjoy was Selfie. It wasn't funny and was very strange.

Also Elijah Rayman age 10 does a great job with his songs, Lori Hammel too.Brandon Williams as Lucifer was fantastic. Scott Ahearn too. So basically everyone was very good. I saw the third preview. I know they are still working on the show so it can only get better!
My favorite songs were: My Favorite Place, Somebody Owes Me a Christmas, There is Nothing More That I Can Say, Mine! But enjoyed the others too. Clever wordplay.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy a funny and witty musical that starts with the fruitcake from hell. Very talented cast sings songs with clever lyrics.Nice staging

Don't see it if you want to bring children to a Christmas show. There is profanity especially in one very funny song.

Also Very talented cast and some play multiple roles. I really laughed a lot. Cute plot.... Read more Read less

See it if You need a laugh or two.

Don't see it if you're looking for something serious

See it if Throw everything into hell’s kitchen sink and call it a holiday musical. I say it’s a funny kind of fruitcake. Warm fuzzy ending.

Don't see it if You actually love fruitcake. You are easily offended by sacrilegious humor. The story is weird.

See it if A clever enough sendup of the Christmas season with plenty of irreverence & scatalogical language.

Don't see it if Don’t expect a compelling story - cartoonish characters, little relatable emotion. But there are lots of laughs & is still previewing.

See it if Like watching a Simpsons Halloween Special and Christmas musical hybrid: full of satire and songs of silly jokes rooted in family values.

Don't see it if Plot gaps (sometimes highlighted as the joke), satire, sacrilegious jokes, and profanity (esp. F word) aren't your thing. Still developing.

Also Free ticket from Show Score.

See it if you'll enjoy good performances in a not very good show. Good one-liners, but no coherence. Performances 85, costumes 85, music 75, book, 50.

Don't see it if you expect something better than a good, but not great SNL skit; don't enjoy watching stereotypes of priests & nuns speaking w/Irish brogues

Also The performances are the reason to see this show. Most of the actors did a fine job. The play is still a work in progress, so maybe it will get better, but I don't think this will ever make Broadway.

Part of the reason I found this offensive was that I'm an Irish-Catholic. The priests and nuns in this all speak with Irish brogues--and this play isn't set in 1950.The priest is an idiot and confession is openly mocked. It's the worst of ethnic stereotyping. It's not funny; it's tasteless.... Read more Read less

See it if dark comedy appeals to you.

Don't see it if you're expecting a traditional Christmas show or are easily offended.

See it if You want to see a weird new musical with some really funny bits, or you just want to support the York

Don't see it if You don't want to sit through 2 and a half hours of jokes stretched into four-minute musical numbers. You're not a fan of God/Satan on stage

Also The show aims to be a "surprisingly touching musical comedy," but it fails at all of that. It takes a funny joke and beats it into the ground; its last half hour is so saccharine it's nauseating. This could have been a funny and enjoyable 90-minute romp; they should really consider that.... Read more Read less

See it if What a fun show! See it if you want to laugh. I really enjoyed this and would see it again.

Don't see it if If you need a realistic or serious story, or prefer a play

See it if you’re curious of the concept of the story & accept that they’re in previews with room for many improvements or if you support works by York

Don't see it if you expect quality production with on point execution.

Also The concept of the story was funny but with poor execution. Mr. Morgan announced before the show that they had just made a change in the beginning and perhaps it will get better before the opening. For now, it just felt like I was watching a high school production and not a very good one. During the show, one of the actors totally messed up by skipping a number/scene and then stating “oh” and going back to it. He also said the wrong line later again. He just seemed a little awkward in the role. He needed more emotions in his face and some body language in my opinion. He stood there limply most of the time. However, singing by ALL the performers were good.... Read more Read less

See it if There are a couple good singers and funny/good songs and one really funny song

Don't see it if You want a fully polished professional and tight show. This seemed like it still needed a lot of work.

See it if you are not afraid of slightly different interpretation of thetraditional Christmas story, open to some fun, and not too concervative

Don't see it if Taking stage performance too serious, do not want child to offer friendship to Lucifer and to see female actress playing God.

Also The whole cast is WOW (Lori Hammel, Zak Risinger, others)! They all are so talented, playing different characters and making fun on some human wicknesses (such as craziness to take selfi with any "selebrity", even Charles Manson). The usage of "F" world is not excessive, just the right amount. People, who gave show 40 points in their reviews just do not have sence of humor and can't recognize sarcasm in using Manson's name or the Holy water on stage. Show is running till December 30, so it is up to you to see or not to see such entertaining musical.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy clever, funny musicals. This one is very different from the musicals we've seen before but we enjoyed most of the lyrics a lot.

Don't see it if jokes about Christmas and religion in general offend you or if you can't handle F-words even when used in a comical way.

Also We saw it at the 5th public performance, still in previews, and according to Jim Morgan, the Artistic Director of the York, they were still heavily working on it and had just changed the beginning quite a bit. Their efforts seemed to pay off since we loved the overall story quite a bit and liked a lot of the lyrics and jokes! Only the music seems not as exquisite, melodical and catchy as "Desperate Measures" (which we loved and watched often!! But which show can compare with "Desperate Measures"?). "Christmas in Hell" certainly has potential and is still in previews so will probably get even better although we already enjoyed our time at the theatre and came out with smiling faces! Like in "Desperate Measures" all the cast is amazing and seems made for their respective roles!!... Read more Read less

See it if Ready for some subversive holiday fun in a musical? Incredibly well cast - very single one! Pretty staging and set design. Funny and quirky

Don't see it if Not looking for fun? Easily offended? Don't like stellar performances?

See it if you enjoy a darker Christmas tale - some funny humor - if not complete.

Don't see it if you need a solid show. This has potential but needs more productions to get the kinks out . Early for off-broadway run.

See it if you want to have some fun by experiencing brilliant music & lyrics, an inventive plot and inspiring acting.

Don't see it if you think God is not a woman, you cannot be enchanted by a devilish devil and you hate kids.

See it if You want a MILDLY funny holiday diversion. Couple of really great numbers/performers, Was the first preview, so HOPING for improvements!

Don't see it if You want a tight, funny show. A lot of jokes beaten to a pulp. Way too long - could be trimmed to 90 min. Should toss a lot of the filler

See it if you like irreverent comedy that pokes fun at institutions like Christmas, religion, or Hell itself. Cute songs, and a star turn or two.

Don't see it if you are so religiously conservative that poking fun at Christmas or Hell or the Catholic church is offensive to you. Or you want "serious."

Also I saw the first public performance of this show. It was an ambitious undertaking for the York Theatre, at least from a technical standpoint; it has more moving parts than the York usually is able to present in its space. So there were some rough edges which ought to iron themselves out over the run of the show.

The show itself is only incidentally about Christmas, since it takes place during Christmastime; it concerns itself more with Hell, Charles Manson, the Devil, and a young boy — and his father — who make very unlikely visits to Hell and yet manage to return, though not without some difficulty (and hilarity). It wouldn't do to give too much away, but suffice it to say that the story is good silly fun and the actors (several of whom play multiple roles) work their butts off and no doubt have a great time doing it.

All the actors are great. But be prepared in particular for a show-stopping diva moment (a la Spamalot's Lady of the Lake) by Lori Hammel in a stunning purple wig.... Read more Read less

See it if you like a VERY FUN show with lots of laughs. It is Simpson-esque.

Don't see it if you dont like the simpsons