The Santa Closet

PREMIERED 2019

When a little boy’s gender atypical gift request to the North Pole is denied, a series of heart-felt letters from the child nudge Santa Claus out of the closet, and into the culture wars. A theatrical mockumentary in the mold of Anna Deveare Smith and other story-focused works, acclaimed writer Jeffrey Solomon purports to have interviewed, and portrays, all of the key players in the scandal that has come to be known as ‘Santa-Gate’. THE SANTA CLOSET was inspired by the national movement to speak honestly and openly to children about LGBTQ+ lives and issues, and the conservative backlash.

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Artistic Team

Jeffrey Solomon

Writer/Performer

Jeff wrote and directed two of the Houses touring plays, BUILDING HOUSES ON THE MOON (Lucille Lortel, City Theatre, Pittsburgh, Winner: Best Play for an Ensemble, Columbus National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival) and DE NOVO. (59E59 St. Theaters, Americas Off Broadway Festival, Tour of El Salvador) He is also the author of TARA’S CROSSING, which appeared at the Queens Theatre’s Immigrant Voice’s Project and its world premiere run at the Tenement Theatre in New York. DE NOVO and TARA’S CROSSING are presented widely in Law Schools as a training tool on asylum and refugee issues. As a solo performer and playwright Mr. Solomon’s MOTHER/SON premiered at HERE Art Center in New York and he received a Joseph Jefferson Nomination for Best Actor for the same performance in Chicago at the Bailiwick Rep. The play has toured the U.S., U.K. India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Australia and is used widely as a diversity training tool at colleges, universities, houses of worship and corporations. MOTHER/SON won the Audience Favorite, Best Playwriting and Best Male Solo Performer at the National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival and Mr. Solomon won Best Male Performance at the Absolut Gay Theatre Festival in Dublin, Ireland. His other solo play SANTA CLAUS IS COMING OUT premiered at the Bailiwick in Chicago, ran Off Broadway the Kirk Playhouse and has toured nationally including the Diversionary Theatre in San Diego where it won a StageSceneLA’s Best Of 2010-2011 Award for Best Solo Performance. The play also received the Best of the National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival. As head-writer for the CityKids Foundation in New York his theatrical works for young audiences appeared on Broadway at the St. James Theater, Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, community settings nationally and on the Oprah, Donahue and Arsenio shows. Jeffrey Solomon created an issue-based Saturday morning television program on A.B.C. called “CityKids” for Jim Henson Productions, and was also a staff writer for the same series. His pilot episode was nominated for an Emmy Award as Best Children’s Special as well as winning an Ollie Award for excellence in Children’s Programming and a Golden Rose Award for Human Values.

Jamie Rose Bukowski

Production Stage Manager

Jamie Rose Bukowski graduated from the Pace University School of Performing Arts, with a B.A. in Stage Management. She’s had the pleasure of working with HOTM since 2016. Some other credits include: US TOUR: A Charlie Brown Christmas Live on Stage, Rockin’ Road to Dublin. NYC: Día Y Noche (Labyrinth Theatre Group,) Pound (Theatre Row,) Pillowtalk (The Tank,) SOLSTICE PARTY! (Live Source Theatre Group), Otello and Macbeth (LoftOpera), and DISENCHANTED! (Theatre at St. Clement’s.) She has also PSMed for Drunk Shakespeare, Live In Theater, AMDA, and Quisisana Musical Theatre Resort.

Joe Brancato

DIRECTOR

OBadiah Eaves

SOUND DESIGN

Chris Chambers

LIGHTING DESIGN

CLaire DeLiso

SET DESIGN

JESSA RAE COURT

COSTUME DESIGN

YANA BIRYKOVA

PROJECTIONS