Sharing the Holiday Pain in ‘Ex-Mass’

Scratch “peace on earth, goodwill toward men.” Forget “we wish you a merry Christmas.” The Open Fist Theatre Company is reveling in the emotions that people really want to share at this time of year: depression and self-pity.

For the West Coast premiere of the holiday cabaret show “Ex-Mass,” the troupe’s Hollywood theater has been transformed into a watering hole in a “post-apocalyptic Manhattan, a few years in the future.”

Patrons rush in from the cold, muttering about the horrors they have witnessed outside. But something’s not quite right with the place they’ve entered, either. The leering emcee (Christopher Spencer) is asking the musical question: “Who knows what is naughty and what is nice?” The torch singer (Alisa Wilson) launches into a cheerful little holiday number called “Unchain the Children.” And a mute boy (Ron Morehouse) is holding a shiny gold box containing the “grand prize” that someone will receive by evening’s end.

As drinks are downed and inhibitions dropped, a microphone is handed around the room. It’s karaoke time, only instead of pop hits, the characters sing what they feel. Emptiness, abandonment, disillusionment and disease are just a few of their refrains.

Some of the songs, by Mark Houghtaling, are actually quite effective, in their moody ways, and pianist-musical director Tim Labor sensitively accompanies each singer. But much of the singing itself is strained and off-pitch, and Charlie Otte’s self-consciously expressionistic direction never quite makes sense of Bradley Rand Smith and Lewis Black’s baffling script.

*

“Ex-Mass,” Open Fist Theatre, 1625 N. La Brea Ave., Hollywood. Thursdays and Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 8 and 10 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Dec. 22. $15. (323) 882-6912. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.