The E(XMAS)IST: A Queer exorcist Parody Comes too Austin

The Exorcist isn’t what most people consider a classic Christmas movie (though it did open on December 26 when it premiered in 1973). But that didn’t stop playwright Vince Kelley from using it as the basis of his holiday-themed parody The E(XMAS)IST, which turns the film’s story into a campy and queer stage play featuring Santa claus and Krampus in key roles. The show premiered last holiday season at Detroit’s Ringwald Theater and is now making its way down to Austin for christmas 2025.

“My friend saw this show in Detroit… and she said, ‘CB, you have to do this show. It is so your style,'” says CB Goodman, who is directing the Austin version. “I contacted the theatre and I was like, ‘Hey, I heard you have a great play.’ They put me in connection with the playwright and he sent me a script,and I read it and I actually laughed out loud multiple times. And I was like, we have to do this. And so I’m really excited that we are taking this beautiful, funny, over the top, completely hilarious play that they have written and putting it on in Austin with our ensemble. And I feel like we’re putting a different little flavor on it.”

Kyle Romero plays Santa Claus, who fills the role played in the film by Max Von Sydow (which is to say, the titular exorcist). He says he found it easy to get into that St. Nick state of mind. “When you’re in the suit and everything, and everyone’s addressing you as… this mythical figure,” he says, “it’s easy to get into the headspace, you know? And the campiness of the show allows you to kind of go wherever you want to go, pretty much. We’re not super worried about the logic of any of this,you know? So if one second I’ve got a German accent,the next I don’t,nobody’s really gonna be paying attention.”

jose Da’Hype plays another legendary Christmas character in The E(XMAS)IST – Krampus, who in Central European folklore punishes naughty children while St. Nicholas rewards the nice ones. “Being a villain has always been my dream,” Da’Hype says. “I was like, if I’m gonna play any character and be the lead of s