Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

The Maverick Theater, in its quest to perform cinema on stage, has pulled from the vaults a Christmas tale that only Hollywood could have conceived. Adapted for the stage by Brian Newell, Nick McGee and Jay Lewis from the 1964 B-movie of the same name, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is so ridiculous it’s entertaining.

Martian leaders are worried because their children are not sleeping and eating. Consulting an ancient Martian sage, they are advised that the children of Mars are rebelling due to the society’s overly rigid structure; from infancy, all their education is fed into their brains through computers, and they are not allowed to play or have fun. The only way to help the children is to allow them to have toys. To do this, they need a Santa Claus – so the Martian leaders decide to kidnap Santa and bring him to Mars to make toys for the children.

Capturing all the hokey B-movie elements (such as costumes and corny character portrayals) Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is suitable for ages 5 and up. Adults should enjoy the SNL style of the performance and as an extra bonus for families, kids are able to meet Santa in his workshop during the thirty minutes prior to the show.