Horizon’s and Dad’s new ‘Too Fast, Too Festivus’ is funny holiday fare for all Atlantans

Horizon Theatre and Dad’s Garage are teaming up again this holiday season to assure that Atlanta audiences of all ages find festive fun under the Horizon roof.

While Horizon is once again staging the family show Madeline’s Christmas, and Dad’s stage is busy with the annual Invasion Christmas Carol, a new, scripted sketch show, Too Fast, Too Festivus, will debut December 12. Developed by a cast and crew of Atlanta comedy all-stars, the show will run through December 31 to offer audiences more grown-up fare.

“Going back to Horizon was something Artistic Director Lisa Adler really wanted and we were really enthusiastic about,” said show Co-Director Eve Krueger, a Dad’s Garage alumna. “Lisa likes offering her patrons something like Santaland Diaries, Waffle Palace or Y’allmark Christmas.” 

These titles refer to grown-up hits for Horizon in holiday seasons past. Y’allmark — now at 7 Stages — concluded its Horizon run in 2023.

Led by Krueger and Tim Stoltenberg, the new show will have a distinct Atlanta flavor to its humor, sure to resonate with local audiences. The cast — Adam Archer, Christina Cusack-Curbelo, Joshua Quinn and Gina Rickicki — all helped develop and write the show with Christian Danley, Justin Geer and Megan Leahy, finding laughs through improv and brainstorming.

“Everybody has a hand in writing this sketch show, which I think is really cool,” Krueger said.

She and Stoltenberg, who previously helmed the Dad’s sketch shows Reversible Lane and To Peach Their Own, honed their sketch skills at Chicago’s Second City, where Archer also trained.

“Tim and I feel like there’s room for really great sketch comedy in Atlanta,” Krueger said. “We wanted a show with Atlanta-specific comedy and also holiday-specific comedy.”

There’s a lot of Christmas in Too Fast, Too Festivus, but other holidays are also highlighted. Additionally, there will be improvised sections where the audience can provide prompts to the performers, so holiday surprises may run rampant.

Rickicki said comedy serves a good purpose in these times.

“It’s bittersweet to perform holiday fare in such dark times, but the more people are able to experience laughter, joy and relief as a group, the stronger we are,” she said. “This isn’t AI slop that encourages isolation or an endless doom scroll. This is one of the most basic, ancient human traditions: gathering in the dark to hear stories told while the wind rages outside.”

She believes the show will lift everyone’s spirits.

“I hope that people see others who don’t look like them laughing and remember that we all deserve comfort and joy,” she said. “Comedy is a very serious thing.”

Where & When

Too Fast, Too Festivus will be at Horizon Theatre December 12 through December 31. Tickets, $35.
1083 Austin Ave.

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Benjamin Carr is an ArtsATL editor-at-large who has contributed to the publication since 2019 and is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association, the Dramatists Guild, the Atlanta Press Club and the Horror Writers Association. His writing has been featured in podcasts for iHeartMedia, onstage as part of the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival and online in The Guardian. His debut novel, Impacted, was published by The Story Plant.