John Waters Invites Fans to Get Weird at ‘A John Waters Christmas’
Jenny Lester
The name John Waters and the idea of Christmas cheer are not usually synonymous. Though this year, the legendary John Waters is performing his critically-acclaimed one man show, “A John Waters Christmas” at Agoura’s Canyon Club on Dec. 4 for one night only . If the show doesn’t bring up those fuzzy yuletide feelings, the man himself is sure to make you laugh, or at the very least, shock you into uncomfortable giggles.
Waters claims he has always had an obsession with Christmas; which only fuels his fun in presenting a raunchy, slightly creepy, well, John Waters style Christmas show. The solo holiday exploitation is geared toward an older audience. Minors will not be admitted without a paying adult. “The Pope of Trash” invites you into his world of perverted gifts, true crime holiday horror stories and what he slates as “the X in Christmas.”
Known as a director, actor, comedian, screenwriter and general eccentric, Waters is just as notable for his trademark pencil mustache as his films, and has accrued an off-kilter reputation to match his macabre body of work. He started making films in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, after his grandmother gifted him with an 8mm camera for his sixteenth birthday. As far out as his work may be, Waters tends to stay close to home, literally, when it comes to the actual filmmaking. Almost all of his films take place in his native city of Baltimore. His casting choices don’t vary much, either. Waters’ usual troupes of actors, known as The Dreamlanders, appear in multiple of his “transgressive trash” films.
“Hairspray” in 1988 was as mainstream as he ever managed. The rest of his career was spent directing NC-17 masterpieces and writing characters with alliterated names. Now his Christmas special, “A John Waters Christmas,” offers the same variety in monologue form. Come as you are and leave slightly twisted.
A John Waters Christmas will be at The Canyon Club December 4. Tickets are available here.