As an alternative to such saccharine and sentimental holiday shows as The Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol, Sacred Fools is offering two offbeat works aimed at the counter-culture audience. One is a parody of the popular movie "It's A wonderful Life," called--naturally--It's A Wonderful Death; the other is the world premiere of David Davalos' Darkfall, a satirical play set on New Year's Eve, Dec. 31, 2000--the beginning of the new millennium for those who properly calculate the math.

It's A Wonderful Death, written and directed by Brad Friedman, runs Dec. 4-20 on Mondays and Wednesdays at 8 PM. It explores the question: what if the hero of the Frank Capra film were basically an evil person? Friedman calls his play "a warped, frustrated parody...featuring that scurvy, scheming spider George Bailey."

Death was presented last year as part of Sacred Fools' late-night comedy series Crime Scene. It returns in this new time slot by popular demand.

Darkfall, directed by Tenny Priebe, deals with a business tycoon who lies gravely ill in a hospital. If he dies, one of two men will inherit his vast, influential empire: one is his sinister and driven protege; the other is his son, a meek little schoolteacher ambitious only for knowledge, not power. The fate of humanity depends on which of the two men will prevail. Through Dec. 22.

After Fool Special, a late-night comedy show, has been scheduled for Fri. Dec. 8 at 11 PM.Sacred Fools is located at 660 N. Heliotrope Drive. For tickets and information call (310) 281-8337 or visit www.SacredFools.org

-- By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent