It’s Christmas Eve, and the interstate in Virginia has closed due to major snowstorms… so begins Cameron Kent’s Welcome to Virginia holiday musical. It’s standard fare, which is not as easy as it sounds. Colorful characters finding meaning when stuck together reeks of revue. The mean ol’ billionaire considers Christmas a “Money-Making Machine.” It’s winky whimsy. The janitor points out that if you’re in such a goldang ol’ hurry “You’re Doing Christmas Wrong.” It wants you to comically look inwards. The hitchhiker fills his “Redneck Christmas” with one-dimensional cliches. But then the pregnant widow (get it?) brings us down mourning her late dad-to-not-be in “My Precious Earl.” Folksy blue. Tick, check, and gotcha.
But they come together, backing and bickering with one another, like in “I Can’t Catch a Break.” Better lyrics makes good music shine. “Turkey and Stuffing Blues” stands out as a cry for overeating help. (Which oddly overshadows “Ain’t No Problem Christmas Can’t Cure“–the surefire big number. But ’tis mumbo jumbo pop psychology.) The rest is sad sentimentality.