In this season of friendship and generosity, it can sometimes be difficult to get all the right presents for the people you love. We can get harried in the hustle and bustle of the holidays, but a new play by Bryant Turnage puts a hilarious twist on gifting. REPORTS OF MY OZARK CHRISTMAS ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED is a madcap nod to one of Missouri’s favorite sons.

“I thought, okay, what would happen if two hillbillies kidnapped Mark Twain accidentally as a Christmas present?” Turnage humorously mused.

The title is, of course, a reference to one of Twain’s most famous quips. When a newspaper prematurely reported the author’s death, he lamented, “The report of my death was an exaggeration.”

“[That line] is classic Twain,” Turnage said. “So, I’m like, let’s just make it Christmas. It’s one of those nods to Twain fans. Other people will go, ‘What is this?’ Hopefully that will get the ones that don’t know into the show.”

The premiere production is being presented by Springfield Little Theatre as part of the Education Department New Works Series. Springfield, itself, gets a nod in the production. Born in Florida, MO and raised in Hannibal, Twain was largely inspired by the region and Turnage’s play is set in the rich state.

“Emily (Stephanie Derrick), the heroine, wants to get a copy of his new book, which is A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR’S COURT, so she sends her two friends to Springfield to go get it and, well, they come back with Mark Twain (Patrick Schuster).”

Twain’s book that Emily wishes for has a clever parallel to Turnage’s script – both are alternate history fantasies. If you are expecting the vision of Twain with white hair and white suit, you’ll have to flip your history books a little farther back in time. The show takes place after TOM SAWYER and HUCKLEBERRY FINN fame, but in the author’s 50s. He adopted the monotone fashion turn later in his 70s.

Turnage praised Twain actor Patrick Schuster for embodying his vision. “I had a blast writing Twain, trying to come up with things that I think would do honor to the man and his wit. Patrick has been phenomenal in his delivery. It’s just so deadpan perfect.”

Turnage received his MA in Theatre and MFA in Playwriting from UNLV. Local fans may best recognize his work from a collaboration with Jeff Jenkins, HAMLET VS. ZOMBIES. His twist on A CHRISTMAS CAROL is on stage this season at Shepherd of the Hills. His wide body of work includes a powerful ten-minute production about the chilling Holocaust pogrom, Kristallnacht. Next, Turnage hopes to stage a production of a carnival set play inspired by his time as a sword swallower and age and weight guesser.

Paying homage to his home of the past two decades, Turnage offers REPORTS OF MY OZARK CHRISTMAS ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED as a new holiday tradition for Missouri families. He hopes that it can even be presented in Twain’s hometown in future years.

“Mark Twain is one of my favorite authors and one of the first things I did when I moved here was to go to Hannibal,” he reminisced. “I’m hoping that people who like Christmas shows enjoy the literature aspect of it. Just have a good time, especially being from the Midwest. There’s a ton of jokes about Missouri weather in this.”

The good cheer and friendship seen on stage has permeated the rehearsal process. Turnage said that you can even see some of the cast’s homemade Christmas decorations in the production.

“We actually got together and made ornaments as a cast,” he revealed. “We needed decorations, and we were like, ‘Why don’t we just make our own?’ So that’s what we did. We got pizza and sat around and made garlands and stars and ornaments. You’ll see those in the show.”

The show is kid friendly and runs about 90 minutes making it the perfect family outing. “I think you’re gonna have a great time. I’m thrilled that [SLT is] helping out and putting it up and giving us a space for it to come alive.”

Of course, amid all the laughs, REPORTS OF MY OZARK CHRISTMAS ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED has a message of love, hope, and good cheer. “I think at its core, it’s a heartwarming story of what friends do for somebody who doesn’t quite get the holiday.”

REPORTS OF MY OZARK CHRISTMAS ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED runs December 5 – 7 at The Studio Theatre, The Judith Enyeart Reynolds School of the Performing Arts for Springfield Little Theatre.

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