This year’s ninth edition of the “Old Pueblo Holiday Radio Show” is David Fitzsimmons’ last rodeo, or, rather, radio — a joke so bad that perhaps only he can appreciate it. “Fitz” will laugh at anything.
As much as he’s loved wrangling this sprawling annual production on behalf of Tucson charities, he’s hanging up his spurs in the wake of a scary heart diagnosis requiring meds that slow him down.
“I would describe it as Zen pleasure,” he said. “I found myself the other day, as I was thinking about getting out of the chair, but instead I thought, you know, those shadows on the tile in front of me, those really are lovely shadows.” Then he laughed.
It was actually advancing age that inspired the show’s creation. Fitzsimmons borrowed the concept from Garrison Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion.”
“We’re all old, and we have poor memories,” Fitzsimmons said, “so it’s a great excuse to have a script in front of us. But there’s lots of ad-libbing. Somehow having a script in front of us was curiously liberating. We all like to surprise each other with poor taste.”
The earliest shows were, in fact, recorded for public radio — the UA’s KUAZ. The show would air on Christmas Eve. Fitzsimmons ultimately dropped the broadcast component to avoid censorship. Note to potential audience members: Some content might be censorable. In addition, the show’s promotional materials caution, “There will be sharp satire.”
“It’ll have a progressive bent,” Fitzsimmons said. “We’ll poke fun at some locals like Justine Wadsack, Kari Lake, maybe Paul Gosar. Those kinds of figures are irresistible.”
The show’s cast includes longtime Tucson radio icon Bobby Rich; Priscilla Fernandez, voted best comedian in Tucson Weekly’s 2023 reader’s poll; Mindy Ronstadt of Tucson’s legendary family of vocalists; Nancy Stanley, creator of the popular “Estrogen Hour” comedy benefits for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society; KXCI radio host Bridgitt Thum; and OG Tucson comedy favorites including librarian Mike Sterner, attorney Elliot Glicksman and others.
Fitzsimmons’ favorite drag queen, Lucinda Holliday, will join the cast and sing song parodies with the Reveille Men’s Chorus spinoff, Grandsons of the Pioneers. “She’s a veteran drag queen,” Fitzsimmons said. “She told me that she was inspired to become a comedian by Red Skelton.
“Some people may be intimidated or even a little bit disturbed or frightened by a drag queen. But Lucinda has such a warm character. She sort of does a Dame Edith Evans kind of a character. She’s very funny, charming, endearing, and she’s a great vocalist.”
Cast member Dave Membrila’s role has grown over the years. Originally cast as Carlos, a co-owner of the Arroyo Café, he’s recently been performing parody songs with the show’s house band, The Cadillacs. Fitzsimmons said he sings in the spirit of a Las Vegas lounge act, “just over-the-top ridiculous and funny as hell.”
“Last year, he did ‘Blue Christmas,’” Fitzsimmons said. “It was a song about turning Arizona blue, and his Elvis was spot on. This year, he is singing ‘Strangers in The Night’ about Donald Trump being indicted. He’s singing it as Donald Trump.” Specifically, the song refers to the federal indictment related to Jan. 6 events at the Capitol.
Fitzsimmons said it was Bobby Rich who gave him the ideas that grew into The Old Pueblo Holiday Radio Show when Rich invited him to write and perform in an annual Christmas show benefiting the Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona.
That show took place at the Fox Tucson Theatre and featured a variation of “The Christmas Carol,” which Fitzsimmons tweaked every year, according to whatever local celebrities were featured in the cast.
“I really grew to like producing and writing and playing a part in that with Bobby. So, since Bobby retired this year, and I am officially retiring this year, I thought it’d be a great opportunity for a little schmaltz.”
Fitzsimmons is stepping away from more than just “The Old Pueblo Holiday Radio Show.” He’s giving up his stand-up comedy and emcee engagements, too, and funneling his time into his SubStack subscription newsletter. There, he writes and draws whatever is on his mind whenever he feels like it.
His SubStack has so far attracted 3,200 subscribers, roughly 300 of whom pay for his content.
“I love the complete freedom of it,” he said. “I can write about all kinds of themes I might not normally have written about.” He cites as an example a recent satire of how a MAGA heckler might respond throughout Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
“I like this period of life,” Fitzsimmons said. “I like slowing down. I haven’t gotten used to it yet. Maybe that’s why I’m liking it so much. In fact, I’m feeling so contented that I’ve given up coffee, marijuana and alcohol.
“It’s been a month and a half, and I’m curiously happy and content. It’s the strangest thing.”
The beneficiary of the ninth and final “Old Pueblo Radio Show” will be Doctors without Borders.
Old Pueblo Holiday Radio Show, Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress Street, Tucson, tickets start at $22.50, noon on Saturday, Dec. 9, www.rialtotheatre.com
Holiday antidote
The Tucson Improv Movement’s “Dirty T’s” ensemble turns “Ugly Sweater” for the season. They celebrate, and gleefully mock, festive holiday traditions and their complications every Saturday in December. The holiday edition of “Pretendy Time,” TIM’s show for kids, will be at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 2. See the Tucson Improv Movement listing below for details.
OTHER SHOWS THIS WEEK
Laff’s Comedy Caffe, 2900 E. Broadway Boulevard, Tucson, www.laffstucson.com, 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, and 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, $15, $20 preferred seating; Daniel Eachus was the youngest finalist ever in the “Funniest Comic in Los Angeles” contest and was featured on Comedy Central’s “Up Next” among many other accolades.
Tucson Improv Movement/TIM Comedy Theatre, 414 E. Ninth Street, Tucson, www.tucsonimprov.com
$7 each show, $10 for both shows, same night, free jam. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30, “Harold Eta” and “Improv 501”; 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, Improv Jam; 7:30 p.m. “The Soapbox”; 9 p.m. Stand Up Showcase; 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, “Pretendy Time” for kids; 7:30 p.m. “Laughing Liberally”; 9 p.m. “Ugly Sweater” and “Auld Laugh Syne.”
Unscrewed Theater, 4500 E. Speedway Boulevard, Tucson,
www.unscrewedtheatre.org, $8, live or remote, $5 kids. 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, From the Top; 6:00 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, Improv Box Student Showcase; 7:30 p.m. “Not Burnt Out Just Unscrewed” (NBOJU); 9 p.m. “The Backyard” improv playground, pay what you will.
