Being showbiz pros, Marc Kudisch and Jeffry Denman know full well the secret to a good comedy team is opposing personalities. You suspect they exaggerate their differences for their goofy new show as the Holiday Guys, but what the heck — it works!
The barrel-chested, bearded Kudisch (“9 to 5,” “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”) flaunts his gentle-bear shtick. He first appears in a blue Snuggie, which he sheds to reveal the kind of shirt and floppy pants suburban dads put on to watch daytime football — appropriately, James Morgan’s set looks like a holiday man cave, complete with comfy armchairs and an electric fireplace.
On the other hand, the lanky, dapper Denman (“Irving Berlin’s White Christmas,” “Yank!”) sports a natty jacket and a red sweater. Kudisch keeps calling him “dude” — a word you just can’t picture Denman ever using.
Loosey-goosey versus uptight: It’s a classic combo. The two men milk it for much of “Happy Merry Hanu-Mas,” along with the competition — such as it is — between Christmas and Hanukkah.
Kudisch boasts that “nobody does Christmas better than the Jews” — Johnny Marks, for instance, wrote the songs for the animated “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Yet that time of the year can be bittersweet: Cue a heartfelt rendition of “A Lonely Jew on Christmas,” from “South Park.”
Backed by a drums-piano-bass band, the duo offers a smart set list. First you have your offbeat picks, like David Friedman’s “My Simple Christmas Wish”: “I don’t wanna audition, I don’t wanna take class,” Denman sings. “I wanna be discovered while I’m sitting on my ass.”
After which Kudisch quips, “Oh my God, that was like a holiday enema.”
And of course you’ve got your roasted chestnuts, though they tend to be performed with a twist. Denman and Kudisch play ukulele and guitar, respectively, in a kumbaya-esque version of “Do You Hear What I Hear.” And while we can’t escape “Jingle Bells,” at least they do Herb Alpert’s arrangement — with kazoos.
Since “Hanu-Mas” is modeled after old-school variety shows, it also features dancing (Denman does a tap solo to Duke Ellington’s jazzy “The Nutcracker Suite”), audience participation and a new “special guest” every night.
The last leads to the show’s single funniest bit.
Tuesday night, Tyne Daly popped up to read “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” a k a “ ’Twas the Night Before Christmas.” (The Post’s Michael Riedel is scheduled to read tonight.)
To set the mood, the men provide the kind of sound effects you’d get in a ’40s radio play: Kudisch using actual objects, Denman with a smartphone app.
While far from edgy, the show keeps sappiness at bay — until the very end, that is. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or anything else for that matter, you can’t seem to avoid going a little mushy.