Darrel Bailey; photo by Rod Penn.
Presented by The Hungtington
A Die Hard parody
Produced by James Seabright
Written by Richard Marsh
Directed by Hal Chambers
Performed by Darrel Bailey
December 27-December 31, 2023
Huntington Theatre
264 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA
The digital playbill
Run Time: 75 minutes no intermission
Recommended for ages 14+
Review by Kitty Drexel
BOSTON, Mass. — Bruce Willis told us Die Hard is not a Christmas movie in 2018.
Richard Marsh’s Yippee Ki Yay is a Die Hard parody, but it’s not about Die Hard. It’s about love: the love between a man and his favorite film, the love between two Die Hard uberfans, and the love between an NYPD cop and his shoes.
Yippee Ki Yay: The Die Hard Parody is visiting The Huntington through December 31. There are only a few performances left.
Allow me to explain why nearly everyone needs to see this one-man tour de force play about a Bruce Willis movie from 1988. It’s come from the Edinburgh Fringe (Do we want a fringe festival in Boston? Support fringe shows to get a fringe festival.) for audiences of most ages whether those ages enjoy action films or not. Bailey performs the play like an epically kinesthetic standup routine. Only people who hate fun dislike standup comedy.
Darrel Bailey is John McClane, a New York cop arriving in Los Angeles just in time for his wife Holly’s new job’s fancypants Christmas Eve party on the 30th floor of Nakatomi Tower. John wanted to reunite with his wife, enjoy a cozy holiday with his kids, and maybe see the sites. He did not expect to save LA from West German terrorist faction leader Hans Gruber and his team of lusciously locked Euro-trash thugs.
On the most memorable Christmas ever, John must rescue Holly’s new coworkers, stop the terrorists before they crack the Nakatomi safe, and get everyone home before Santa munches his last frosted biscuit. Bailey takes no prisoners while spitting rhyming couplets in this turbo-fueled ode to 80s action movie excellence.
Darrel Bailey; photo by Rod Penn.
Yippee Ki Yay is a lot easier to understand after watching Die Hard, but it’s not necessary to enjoy Bailey’s performance or Marsh’s writing. I watched Die Hard to prepare for this review. I’m glad I did; it’s a good flick. It’s worth watching for the nostalgia references alone.
Yippee Ki Yay is a sterling example of what is possible when great writing, great acting, and great direction come together in one 75-minute play. Bailey takes the stage like a pro in a solo boxing match: he’s running, twirling, kneeling, and fighting for Jon’s life and marriage across the Huntington’s floor.
Bailey’s performance is athletic. He has impressive stamina and versatile storytelling technique. We watch him juggle multiple, repeat characters across a spectrum of accents and personas while maintaining a percussive story pace (while piggybacking a naughty teddy bear). He’s so well memorized that outbursts from the audience serve to feed his work and fuel his impressions.
Due credit must be given to accent coach Alice White for bringing Bailey’s impression of Alan Rickman’s “German” accent to our stage. Some posh English acting schools are tirelessly dedicated to preserving the posh English accent no matter the acting challenge, regardless of what a role requires. These devotees selfishly sacrifice historical and geographical accuracy to present only the most snooty of English accents regardless of a character’s origins.
Rickman was one such British patriot/over-trained snob. Even though Hans Gruber is German and leads a posse of what appear to be actual European actors, Alan Rickman stole himself to perform only the most cursory of lilts in the movie. Without heavy-handed reinforcement from the script, one might never know Rickman was playing German.
Bailey performs the essence of Rickman’s failed exercise in German linguistics with great comedic flair. He doesn’t need to be subtle. With a mispronounced “W” here or an “und” for no reason there, Bailey nails his impression of Rickman poorly impersonating someone who might be from Germany.
His tough-guy Bruce Willis accent is good (by being bad) too. But, it’s Bailey’s impression of mournful thug Karl that steals the show. Bailey’s Eurotrash accent for Karl, in addition to the personal flair Bailey lends this major of minor characters, catapults Karl across the stage (and into our hearts). There was no need or point to overdeveloping Karl with hidden depths, but the production is richer for it. Nay, we are all richer for it.
Bailey, Marsh, and director Hal Chambers nicely tie off Yippee Ki Yay with an unpredictable button. Their summary of Die Hard the movie is as expected. John and his wife reconcile and drive off into the sunrise in a limo. Yippee Ki Yay has a less predictable, more mature ending for its reality-based characters.
It’s the kind of ending that may not be fun but is sustainable in the long run. Sustainability can be nice, too. Too bad John McClane never learns this lesson in any of the subsequent franchise films.
Die Hard is an American action movie. It has many guns. England has vastly different laws (more sensible) governing firearms from the US. These differences show up in Yippee Ki Yay.
The pretend guns in Die Hard frequently kill pretend people. Guns are designed to kill things. That is their purpose.
Die Hard is a fun movie. Guns are not toys. Have fun at the theatre, everyone.
