Santa Claus And Other Lies
Where: The Bailiwick Repertory Theatre, 1229 W. Belmont
Open: Saturday, Dec. 8, 10:30PM
Runs: 3 Saturdays Only. Dec. 8, 22, 29 -10:30pm
Admission: $12, $6 with Rudolph the Red-Hosed Reindeer ticket stub
Online Tickets: Visit Bailiwick.org’s Ticket Website
Hell in a Handbag Productions is pleased to present the brilliantly twisted comedy of Mr. Jason Grimm and Ms. Trista Smith, better known as ‘Smith & Grimm’ in Santa Claus and Other Lies.
Does Christmas make you think of free candy, homeless people, and immaculate conception? Us too! This year Smith and Grimm can’t go home for the holidays. Instead, they’ll do their best to recreate an authentic Missouri Christmas here in the city, complete with deep-fried candied hams, a traditional Jesus piñata, and an old-fashioned sing along. Join Jason and Trista as they take you on a musical journey of love, laughter, life and various bodily functions that put the ‘Ho’, in Ho-Ho-Ho.
ABOUT SMITH & GRMM
Jason Grimm and Trista Smith are a perfect example of what happens when you mix good old fashioned values with big city savvy and a dash of bawdiness. Trista Smith and Jason Grimm grew up a few hours from each other in two small, separate Missouri towns very much like Mayberry; filled with small-town morals, small town secrets, and plenty of banjo music.
After leaving home, Smith and Grimm finally met in college (where they studied musical theatre…no…seriously). Not having much of a tolerance for “schoolin’”, Jason eventually dropped out of college, packed his belongings in a handkerchief tied to a stick and moved to Chicago. Trista, the more disciplined of the two, earned her degree before hightailing it to the big city.
She found Jason playing the piano in cheap saloons, cleaned him up and got him on his feet. Jason bought a piano, Trista bought a pretty dress and eventually they started writing and performing at Davenport’s Cabaret (in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood). The two were last seen performing their act at The Lakeshore Theater in January of this year. In addition to her act with Jason, Trista is a musical theatre actress around Chicago. She is currently honing her comic skills as the female understudy in Forbidden Broadway:SVU at The Royal George Theatre. She was recently seen in Hell in a Handbag’s production of Caged Dames and Porchlight Theatre’s production of Assassins.
Jason Grimm is an actor who also musically directs and teaches at Chicago’s Second City. He became a founding member of the Open Cage Theatre Ensemble in 2003, and plays piano for various improvisation troupes around Chicago.
PRESS PHOTOS
