Review: Beaverdance is great alternative holiday entertainment

To those of a certain age, it is no surprise that “Beaverdance” leads off with the theme from the TV show, “Leave It to Beaver.” Things quickly degenerate after that – in a good way.

Billed as a “Marxist holiday fur trade musical,” the Bedlam Theatre production is fast-moving and fun. Despite its political overtones, the play is light on dialectical materialism and heavy on eroticism and junior-high-school-level jokes. (Who knew there were so many double entendres associated with the word “beaver”?)

The story follows Karl Marx as he travels back in time to 1804 to study beavers as an idealized worker collective. In their idyllic, soon-to-be-Minnesota wilderness, the beavers are beset by Ojibwe, voyageurs and capitalists who want all the fur off their backs.

To gain their trust, Marx takes on the Santa Claus persona and hence the holiday connection. There’s also fake snow and a simulated sled dog ride to add to the ambiance.

Marx, ably portrayed by Corrie Zoll, injects some lessons from the class struggle into the proceedings. But it’s the antics of the charming beavers – and their capitalist protagonists in particular – that hold your attention. They sing and dance their way across the stage in inventive costumes designed by Foxy Tann.

The villains of the piece – Robert Blaine and Loring Park (played by Ryan Patrick and Chase Burns) are wonderful singers and actors. You’re drawn to them despite their dastardly deeds (a metaphor for the allure of capitalism, perhaps?).

Andrea Fairbanks as the Ojibwe “Bemidji” and Maren Ward as voyageur Jacques Brainerd complete the talented cast. Although the outcome of the story is never in doubt, the production offers enough twists and turns to provide a thoroughly entertaining evening.

Tickets are available for the show only or for a four-course pre-show dinner, which is definitely worth the additional cost. It includes a lovely salad and scrumptious entrée of chicken or tempeh with sweet potato mash and kale. For dessert, the delicious chocolate brownie truffles, billed as “Beaver balls,” are – uh – bigger than you’d expect.

Audience members can top off the evening by getting their photo taken with Santa Claus aka Karl Marx. Now that’s something to share with the family this holiday season!

“Beaverdance” runs through Dec. 21. Visit the Bedlam Theatre website for tickets and more information.