Pick of the Day: Fruitcakes

Not going to be a popular pick, I know. But if you check out this Regina Little Theatre production of Julian Wiles' comedy about a boy who runs away from home shortly before Christmas and ends up in a small South Carolina town where the inhabitants are decidedly eccentric which opens a four-night run at the Performing Arts Centre tonight it's not as if you'll receive an actual slice of fruitcake as part of the admission price -- although now that I think about it, that would be a neat marketing gimmick for the RLT to consider.

I, for one, wouldn't be put off by the prospect. But a lot of other people probably would. For them, receiving fruitcake as a gift, or being offered a slice as a snack, inspires true revulsion on par with the most heinous phobias that plague humankind. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if a term's actually been coined to describe this fear -- fruitcakeophobia? Regardless, it's not anything I suffer from. Of course, most of the fruitcake that I've consumed in my life has been of the homemade variety courtesy of my grandmother, mother and sister.

Storebought fruitcakes are another matter entirely. And if that has been your primary vector of exposure you have my sympathy. But don't despair. Even if you aren't able to bring yourself to see this play there's still plenty of holiday fun to be had tonight. At the MacKenzie Gallery, for example, Saskatchewan Express kicks off its latest musical revue Blue Champagne (which runs Dec. 2-6 and 9-13). As well, John Huston is presenting his one-person fringe-style performance of Dickens' A Christmas Carol at St. Mary's Anglican Church (Montague & 15th Ave.).

And for those of you who will not be denied when it comes this tasty Christmas comestible, here's video for the Eraserheads' 1996 song "Fruitcake" (YouTube)