This hilarious--and ridiculous--holiday tradition is now in its 9th year, and celebrating 100 performances! December 5-8, 12-15, and 19-22 (all 7:30 PM) at The Bard's Town. What do critics think about THE KINGS???

“Flat-out brilliant." -LEO Weekly * "Among the best-written, best-executed riffs on Dickens’ A Christmas Carol you’ll ever see." -LEO Weekly * "A Louisville holiday tradition," and "the only one that's homegrown." -Courier Journal * "The best holiday comedy I have ever seen."

WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Doug Schutte

TICKETS: Advanced Tickets Advanced $20, available at thebardstown.com | At the Door: $23

THE KINGS CAST (in order of appearance): Doug Schutte * Corey Music * Tony Smith * Abby Braune * Ben Silliman * Meghan Logue

10 years after his father--a nationally-known Elvis-impersonating magician known as The Magistic King--died or disappeared during his Christmas Eve Magic Special, middle son Carter King returns home for what he hopes the last time to tell his family what he thinks of them. His crazy family, though, has something else in mind.

"The first half of the play is a courtroom comedy like none other, with Uncle Frank as prosecutor (channeling his courtroom idol, Ben Matlock), Wendy as an earnestly impulsive defense attorney (who repeatedly objects to her own inappropriate remarks) and a judge and jury made from poster board cutouts. The highlight of the trial is an intricate series of Rashomon-like reenactments that depict various accounts of Marley’s demise. These scenes are comic writing of a high order – and the ensemble revels in the shape-shifting variations."

"In the second half, the Rashomon conceit gives way to a full-blown variation on A Christmas Carol.The spirits of Christmas past, present and future are represented by the Elvis-impersonating Stein King (Schutte, in a virtuoso hip-twitching, performance). This spirit is a Vegas Elvis, dressed in satiny Vegas attire, speaking in a syrupy Tupelo drawl and littering his every speech with snippets from Elvis hits (56 references, we’re told, at one point and each funnier than the last)." --LEO WEEKLY

“a holiday show that has become a Louisville holiday tradition...one of the funniest shows you’ll see this holiday season. It’s a brilliant riff on Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol." - LEO Weekly

"The Kings of Christmas by Doug Schutte is a must-see. If you don’t have a ticket, buy immediately — if you still can. If you can’t, you might consider bribery. Or theft. Or blanketing your social media connections in hopes that somebody who has a ticket will come down with something… The years have not diminished the ingenious intoxicating pleasures of this holiday treat." -LEO

“Louisville has a lot of theatrical holiday traditions, starting with The Nutcracker, but The Kings of Christmas is the only one that's homegrown." -Courier Journal

"The madcap opening moments of Kings are flat-out brilliant – and the rest of the play lives up to the opening. This is among the best-written, best-executed riffs on Dickens’ A Christmas Carol you’ll ever see. In fact, a word to the wise: stop reading for a moment and immediately order your tickets...tickets are a hot commodity. “King’s” has become a holiday tradition. -LEO (2014)

Recommended for ages 16+
Please note: our theatre in located on the 2nd floor, currently with stair-only access.