Holidays can be both a joyous and a depressing time. As holiday gatherings are usually centered on families, those who are estranged or distant from their families can feel lonely at best and suicidal at worst. Many gay men and lesbians have fallen into this category over the years and have as a result found unique ways to celebrate with families of choice, rather than families of origin.

Diversionary Theatre’s 2010 contribution to these "families of choice" celebrations is Jeffrey Solomon’s one-man satirical play, Santa Claus Is Coming Out, and it provides gay men, lesbians, and their allies a chance to laugh at their adversaries, snicker at “hidden” gay aspects of popular culture, and perhaps ponder a sincere message about how closeted gay celebrities harm both themselves and society at large.

Mr. Solomon’s play is billed as a “mock-u-mentory,” in the style of one of Christopher Guest’s movies, such as Best in Show. In a program essay, Mr. Solomon professes (seriously, I think) to have admired the work of solo artist Anna Deavere Smith, whose Fires in the Mirror documented reactions to the Crown Heights race riots (Ms. Smith will be here next spring, by the way, with her new work, Let Me Down Easy). He then goes on to say that he’s applying her methods of investigation to the question of Santa Claus’ sexuality.

This set-up gives Mr. Solomon the chance to play a bunch of different characters, from Santa’s press agent, to a little boy who didn’t get the doll he requested for Christmas, to Santa’s Italian lover, and a gossipy disco queen. Of course, there are the nemeses as well, most of them of the religious persuasion.

Diversionary presents some shows that include gay characters but are intended to appeal to both straight and gay audiences. This one’s only for the gays, as well as those who love them enough to enjoy gay humor. As you might imagine, the best jokes are unprintable. Gay humor relies a lot on knowledge of popular culture, and that fact makes shows such as this one difficult. Unless they’re being constantly rewritten they seem dated, and there are enough jokes and situations in this one that fall into the “been there, done that” category that the humor isn’t as uproarious as some might want.

Mr. Solomon is an appealing performer with a wiry body and a face that becomes older or younger at will. With the aid of Joe Brancato’s direction and a simple set featuring graphics and projections by David Derr and recorded original music by Jason Webb and Andrew Ingkavet he is a pleasant person with whom to spend 75 or so intermission-less minutes. And, his point about how even the biggest celebrity of them all needs space to love who he loves is one that’s well-taken in our media-crazed culture.

Santa Claus Is Coming Out may be a fantasy, but it’ll do what a holiday show needs to do: warm the cockles of your heart. In a world where a Rescue Mission won’t accept winter coats provided by gays that’s comfort enough.

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