Middle Rage is coming back to the Roxy Theatre, and this time it’s going to have a holiday twist.
The sketch comedy show’s creators and stars, Geri Hall and Gary Pearson are excited to bring new material to the stage just in time for the holiday season.
“About half of the show will be what we call the Middle Raged greatest hits,” says Hall. “But about half the show is brand new, holiday-themed material, and it’s been an absolute joy. It’s going to be super fun to debut this stuff at the Roxy.”
With a show focused on the highs and lows of being an aging adult, the new skits are focused on how holidays change, particularly when children are involved.
Pearson talks about how holidays change as children grow up.
“It is tricky. It’s interesting for me because my kids are all in their 20s, so I’m the most excited about Christmas,” says Pearson. “I might have always been the most excited about Christmas, so I guess that hasn’t changed. I just work really hard to keep the magic going when other people can’t be bothered.”
Hall is going through a different perspective, with her 11-year-old twins.
“I’m at that funny phase… I’m an older parent than average,” she says. “So I’ve got two 11-year-olds who are very much still enchanted by the magic of Christmas, but all of that happening at the same time that my husband’s asking me what I want under the tree this year, and all of my answers are like Advil, and a cooling pillow for night sweats, and all of these old-lady things creeping into my Christmas list. And the huge disparity between my children’s experience of Christmas and what mine is now is very funny.”
For Pearson, his wish list hasn’t changed over time, interjecting “I still want Lego… Santa, if you’re listening, I still want Lego sets.”
Middle Raged began when Hall and her husband welcomed their twins, and they felt it was the right time to try and be responsible adults and write their wills.
After purchasing their will kits from Chapters, what was supposed to be a quick chore before a date night of dinner and going to the movies, but turned into a stressful evening of of crying and fearing the worst for their future.
It was then that Hall reached out to Pearson to vent, but he burst out laughing, and offered to turn it into a sketch.
From one sketch, to a show’s worth of material, Middle Raged was born.
This will be the third time Middle Raged graces the Roxy stage, but it’s the first time when festive material will be a part of the show, and Pearson and Hall want to do what they always do — make their comedy as relatable as possible. That includes keeping it together for the holidays, while navigating the perks and pitfalls of dealing with kids, extended family, and the season.
“Our new show deals with those things from a few angles actually. We’ve got a couple new sketches, one is about how stressful the family calendar gets during the holiday season, that you’re supposed to be experiencing all of these idyllic moments,” says Hall. “But you’re just in your car driving frantically through crappy weather, trying to find a little something for everyone. And the experience of what Christmas or the holiday is supposed to be is often very different than the reality of it.”
Middle Raged makes its festive appearance at the Roxy on Friday, December 6th at 8 pm. Tickets are available through roxytheatre.ca
Hall and Pearson say enjoy their time on stage with their sketch comedy revue, because they can appeal to a wide age range. For older adults, the topics they cover are relatable, and for the younger crowd, they enjoy laughing about the same topics because of their own parents while not entirely appreciating that they’re looking into their own futures.
“It’s good for people who have little kids, [those] that are just that middle-age period, those with older or grown up kids, and for seniors, it’s quite a range,” says Pearson.