Bringing good tidings of gay joy, The E(Xmas)ist makes its regional debut at Austin’s CRASHBOX theatre this weekend and next (Dec. 11-13 & 18-20). This campy Christmas parody from playwright Vince Kelley puts a candy cane twist on one of the most influential horror movies of all time, The Exorcist. Featuring all the film’s iconic moments, DIY special effects, an NC-17 rating, and a showdown between Krampus the Christmas demon and Old Saint Nick himself, the stage play showcases “outrageous kinds of dandy and melodrama, John Waters, Divine-type stuff,” according to director and producer CB Goodman.
“It is quite literally the goofiest experience that I think I have had the pleasure of being a part of,” says actor and comedian Jose Da’Hype, who plays Krampus. “Because I’m just like, this is so stupid. Even the character says it in the show, ‘This is fucking stupid!’”
Kelley originally wrote The E(Xmas)ist for Michigan-based gay theatre the Ringwald, but never intended for it to reach Austin. After a friend saw the Detroit production and told Goodman she had to do it, the Grackle Jack production founder reached out. Kelley sent her the script, and after laughing out loud – and feeling a little jealous she hadn’t written it – she knew she wanted to put on the play.
“I remember the first read-through of the script,” Goodman says. “I said, ‘Who thinks of this backwards story?’ I can’t compare it to too many things, other than the villains are now getting their time to shine. The people who you thought were wrong are actually in the right, and they have a story to tell too.”
The Austin cast is a crème de la crème lineup of local comedians, actors, and clowns, most of whom are queer or trans themselves. Along with Da’Hype, Kyle Romero, Vincent Tomasino, Kelli Bland, Kat Ellison Williams, and Jay Byrd were all handpicked by Goodman nearly a year ago to make sure The E(Xmas)ist starred “the best actors I know,” she says.
Putting their own twist on it, Austin’s E(Xmas)ist production trades Detroit’s improv-heavy style for theatrical clowning, a type of performance that centers the audience’s amusement. The audience then becomes a part of the production in these “clown moments” as the actors listen carefully for their reactions. If the response is holly jolly, they get to keep going, but if it’s closer to bah humbug, they have to stop immediately. This style creates a “really cool bond between the actors and the material and the audience,” says Goodman.
“I had to come in and understand that physicality was a much bigger portion of this show than the lines,” Da’Hype says. “There are so many parts in the show where it’s not about what’s being said, it’s about the face, the body, the dancing. It’s everything else outside of the script.”
Goodman’s production company Grackle Jack was founded on making that audience and cast connection in order to bring new understanding to social issues through comedy. That mission feels especially important in the current political climate, which Da’Hype calls “very reminiscent of 1940s Germany when artists were the soothsayers.” Or, to put it another way: “Let’s take down the bastards by laughing at them,” says Goodman. “There’s something so exciting and dangerous, especially now, [to say] ‘Yes, we’re gonna make this really queer thing, and we’re gonna totally mess with Christmas. Deal with it.’”
This article appears in December 12 • 2025.