Kari Mabry, Mato Wayuhi, Nathaniel Twobears, Shinaana Secody, and Jalisa McKee Photo by Rhiana Yazzie

Ochopee is an actual crossroads community on the edge of the Everglades in southwestern Florida and is home ground of playwright, filmmaker, and actor Montana Cypress. Cypress, now based in Los Angles, is a member of the Miccosukee, a small tribe who are natives of the Ochopee region. We have a spate of plays and movies about dysfunctional family holiday gathering; why not one showing a Native family demonstrating that they can be just as hilariously dysfunctional and, ultimately, cohesive as any other family?

That's exactly what A Christmas at Ochopee offers, and it easily earns its place among other entries in the genre. To be honest, the play isn't that much about Christmas. It is mostly about how a family of individuals with their own quirks, grudges, and dreams, when given an occasion to gather (okay, that's the Christmas part), can find the connecting tissue that binds them with love and a shared identity. The Weetley family at the core of this play carry signs of their Native heritage and contemporary Native life, but their individual personalities, conflicts, and bonds are relatable enough for anyone, from any background, to appreciate.

Bo and Virginia Weetley are preparing for Christmas. Bo is a construction contractor trying to land one of the scarce local government contracts, and supplementing their bank account by gambling, much to Virginia's dismay. Bo's self-satisfied brother Leroy, a Christian fundamentalist preacher, arrives with his new partner, Maria, who makes herself right at home. They also expect their son Junior, home from a prestigious college in California. Junior surprises one and all by arriving with a fiancée, Audrey, in tow, along with the news that they are vegan. It is hard to tell whether Virginia is more alarmed that her beloved boy won't be able to eat her Christmas dinner or that he has gotten engaged to a girl she's never met–and a white girl at that!

Not having known about Audrey, Virginia invited Summer, a charming, beautiful, confident, young woman, and Junior's friend since childhood, to stop by. Friendly Officer Petey of the rez police also makes an appearance. These stories almost always have an unexpected guest. In this case, it is number one son Donnie Boy, who everyone assumes wouldn't make it on account of being in jail. However, the arresting officer on his case fails to show up for the hearing, so Donnie Boy is let off and surprises everyone, in a really startling way.

All kinds of family business emerges, including a longstanding grudge between Bo and Leroy that involves Bo's beloved dog, Leroy's whopping big car, and an alligator, a story that becomes funnier every time it is told. There is a fair amount of one-upmanship between both sets of brothers, with basketball being one of the main points of honor, plus Donnie Boy's misgivings about the track his life has taken, and Junior's embarrassment about his family.

Cypress has made the concerns of the men in the family more interesting than those facing the female characters, but all the characters, men and women alike, are etched with unique personalities, and each is appealing in their own way. That and the very funny dialogue throughout the play are particularly strong selling points. The comedy is akin to high quality sitcom banter: for example, when Junior and Audrey explain that they met at an environmental protest on campus, Bo approves, saying that he, as a youth, took part in protests for important causes too, to which Virginia retorts, with a withering look, "A rally to bring back the McRib doesn't count."

Benjamin Wilson is terrific as Bo, endearing while keeping us laughing as Bo struggles to maintain his hold on patriarch status. Wilson is well matched with Keri Mabry as Virginia, who, it is clear, is really the organizing force in the family and a mama bear when it comes to her two boys. The two deliver their lines in pronounced Southern accents that attest to their character's deep Florida roots. Nathaniel Twobears is wonderful as Junior, having dropped his Southern accent and picked up California hip-speak, as he ably conveys his discomfort with his roots, and in particular his ne'er-do-well brother. As that brother, Donnie Boy, Mato Wayuhi comes close to stealing the show, playing the role with manic energy and hitting the laugh lines with gusto, though the other actors are skilled enough to hold their own.

Those four, the nuclei of the Weetley family, are the core of the show, but the other actors all acquit themselves well, with Sylvia Robertson, as Sylvia, particularly impressive with her bold intrusion into the norms of the family, and Shinaana Secody totally engaging as the well-grounded Summer. Jalisa McKee, as Audrey, effectively displays her displeasure as she realizes that Junior has failed to alert his family to her existence, let alone her coming for Christmas. David Valentine, as Leroy, and Dallas Jennings, as Officer Petey, round out the solid cast.

The action moves from inside the Weetleys' humble home to the front and back yards, with director Julia Rosa Sosa Chaparro orchestrating transitions and the coming and goings of characters like an in-control circus ringmaster, aided by the shifting lights designed by Andrew Vance. That main living space–a combined living and dining room with the kitchen visible in an alcove on one side, decorated to reflect the families, is well-conceived by set designer Misha Kachman. Ben Litzau's costumes are more or less everyday apparel, but their differences serve well to underscore the traits of each character. New Native Theatre's Artistic Director Rhiana Yazzie is credited as props master and earns hosannahs for one item in particular. You'll know it when you see it.

The tone of A Christmas in Ochopee, and of this holiday genre in general, is upbeat and leaves the audience with little doubt that a happy ending is in store. Through most of the one-act play, none of the upheavals can be taken as anything but fun. Still, as the end nears we are in suspense, along with all of the characters, awaiting the outcome of Bo's most recent, and perhaps ruinous, wage, with preacher Leroy's and his consort Maria's arms raised to call on God's glory.

Cypress has found a satisfying way to end A Christmas in Ochopee that leaves the audience with well-exercised laugh muscles and a warm spot in our hearts. It gives Native audiences a rare opportunity to see themselves on stage and non-Natives the chance to gain insights into our Native neighbors. The biggest take away for me is that all families, diverse as they are, are subject to their share of love and discord, and that we are more alike than not in our core humanity. It is a welcome statement as a discordant world celebrates the season.

A Christmas in Ochopee, a New Native Theatre production, continues through December 21, 2025, at 825 Arts, 825 University Avenue, Saint Paul MN. For tickets and information, please visit www.newnativetheatre.org or call 612- 367-7639.

Playwright: Montana Cypress; Director: Julia Rosa Sosa Chaparro; Set Designer: Misha Kachman; Costume Designer: Ben Litzau; Lighting Designer: Andrew Vance; Sound Designer: Mari Bogucki; Props Master: Rhianna Yazzie; Fight Director: Annie Enneking; Technical Director: Austin Stiers; Assistant Director: Elena Yazzie; Stage Manager: Becca Wilts.

Cast: Dallas Jennings (Officer Petey), Keri Mabry (Virginia Weetley), Jalisa McKee (Audrey), Sylvia Robertson (Maria), Shinaana Secody (Summer), Nathaniel Twobears (Joseph "Junior" Weetley), David Valentine (Uncle Leroy), Mato Wayuhi (Donnie Boy), Benjamin Wilson (Bo Weetley).