(bright music continues) - You want some eggnog, Holly?

How about some eggnog?

Oh!

Oh!

Oh!

Think of baby Jesus.

(shouts) - [Narrator 2] Late September, the Purple Rose Theater in Chelsea.

A rehearsal for "Norma and Wanda," a comedy by Jeff Daniels.

This is the 20th anniversary production of the play directed by Rhiannon Ragland, a longtime Purple Rose actress turned director.

- It's about two sisters (laughs) who get in a little bit of trouble during the upcoming holiday season.

There's a nosy neighbor, there's an old high school friend, shows up, and things don't get better.

And the secret of a Christmas sausage recipe at stake.

- [Narrator 2] Today, the cast is working with fight director Christina Tracer on a scene where a family Christmas devolves into a brawl.

- Somebody better pay me something or (clicks teeth) Father Time is gonna spread a little Christmas cheer of his own.

It is absolute chaos.

Like, Jeff is brilliant with chaos.

- [Kristin] He loves chaos.

- [Henri] He's brilliant with chaos.

Brilliant with chaos.

- And it's on full display.

- Yes, full display.

And it's always an adventure to know that the audience is coming in expecting this holiday play.

Right?

(laughs) And it is a holiday play, but it's not the holiday play you thought you were coming to see.

- I think it's just funny, like it's classically funny.

He really wrote like a very traditional sort of sitcom structure, but wrote it in a very dark and unlikeable way in terms of a lot of the characters.

And so it really tests you, that you find yourself identifying with these people that you would not normally want to identify yourself with.

And hilarity ensues.

- And it's really, really human.

Maybe not the best parts of humanity that you want to see, but it's really, really human.

Like when you watch this show, when you see this show, you will be able to identify either with yourself or family members or friends.

There's no way you walk out of here and you do not identify with one of these characters, at least one.

- I'll show you.

I play Norma Randolph, one of the two sisters.

I'm the more proper of the two.

The set is my home, early '90s, curated just to the way I like to prepare for the holidays.

And I have an affinity for my cat.

I feel like it's a need for comedy.

I feel like where we are in our society right now is, I think comedy is so essential and the need to laugh and to have that levity and the timing feels so right to just escape with laughter.

I think that has been a goal recently of this theater, of bringing all different types of comedies to these audiences.

- Jeff's intention, the way he built the theater, it's 168 seats in a thrust shape.

So the audience is on three sides of you and they're literally just a handhold away.

He intentionally made you sit in the room with them and wants you to feel a part of each story, that sort of fly on the wall experience.

- And it's a lot of listening, a lot of listening.

We are listening to each other and we are living in this world and allowing people to see into this world that we're living in.

But also while we're doing that, we're listening to the response of what's happening out here as well.

So it's always alive.

Even though we're doing seven performances a week, it's still alive for us each time.

You know, and it's beautiful.

It's amazing.

- And I can say, like, as an actor and a director, this is the hardest place that I've ever worked because it is so intimate.

They are so close.

Their responses do sort of impact your work.

But I would also not wanna work any other way.

- Getting to work with Rhiannon.

We've worked together on stage and this is my first time working with her as a director.

It's really exceptional.

The way that that Rhiannon understands Jeff's comedy, the two of them really can unlock the humor in a way that no one else can.

They both are very physical.

The writing is very physical.

What happens on stage is very physical and Rhiannon is like a genius in bringing out the physical humor.

It's a really specific, intentional way to work that if you do trust the process and we do, it's really fulfilling.

- I love working with playwrights.

That's one thing, Jeff, because this theater sort of is his, has an opinion.

And when you work with him long enough, you build that trust, you build that language, he'll come to you.

You know, you know this character better than I do at this point.

How would she say this?

So you get to have those moments that are so rare and such a gift.

And it's very collaborative.

- Like we're all just trying to do our best work.

And again, having something that's living and breathing and not stale from all aspects, whether it's a design aspect or a playwriting or directing or you know, we're just not trying to fit a form.

I'm not trying to recreate what somebody has already done.

And that freedom and creative expression is, I mean, it's what we live for.