Gunner Johnson is the owner of The Bunyan, a typical small-town bar in the frigid town of Bunyan Bay, Minnesota.  But all is not hunky-dory this Christmas.  Business is slow. His only customer is Kanute Gunderson, a mooch who never pays for anything. His former waitress, Bernice Lundstrom, is back and looking for a job, but there’s no money to pay her. He fears his wife Clara might be wishing she’d married his nemesis Sven Yorgenson.  And a mind-of-its-own karaoke machine cranks out cheesy Christmas music at the drop of a hat.  After an argument with Clara, Gunner storms out to take his Ski-doo out on the frozen lake, and a resulting crash puts him into a coma.  And before you can say Yah, sure, you betcha, he’s off on a zany romp of a journey through Christmases past, present, and future.  Will he come out of it a better, or at least less Scroogey, guy?  It’s a rollicking evening of theatre which is the perfect antidote to holiday stress.

A Don’t Hug Me Christmas Carol is the sequel to Don’t Hug Me, though it’s a stand-alone piece. The creation of Phil Olson (book and lyrics), with music by his brother Paul Olson, Don’t Hug Me was a smash hit in Los Angeles, where it won four Artistic Director Achievement Awards, including Best Original Musical.  It was so successful that three theatres booked the sequel even before it was written.  A Don’t Hug Me Christmas Carol opened in five cities simultaneously in 2006, playing for 16 weeks in Los Angeles to sold-out houses.  And its success continues to grow every year.