The Rip Nelson Holiday Quarantine Special presented by Hell in a Handbag Productions at Online Stream

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...Directed and choreographed by Stevie Love and filmed in front of a green screen for deliberately cheesy stylistic flourishes, the show generally works better in pieces than as a whole. Unlike last summer's The Golden Girls: The Lost Episodes, Vol. 4-LOCKDOWN!, which took the company's long-running spoof of The Golden Girls and leaned heavily into the tropes of socially distanced dialogue, not having a live audience to share the "I got that reference!" moments, along with a little bit of dead air between gags, slows down the comic energy from time to time."

Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended

"...David Cerda's latest creation is, as they say, all that and a bag of chips. It's fun, sexy, sophisticated, professionally polished and full of holiday humor. The show will bring back memories of past Christmases, as it showcases and parodies so many familiar popular entertainers. Mr. Cerda has brought back a cast and creative crew of Chicago's top talent, many of whom are Hell in a Handbag ensemble members. For an entertaining adult Christmas variety show, filled with funny, familiar characters and accomplished, toe-tapping musical numbers, look no further than "The Rip Nelson Holiday Quarantine Special.""

Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Recommended

"...Rip Nelson, a seasonal Handbag character (embodied by Jones) is certainly a cartoon and an old codger and is adept at making it work, but he’s only working to survive the non-evergreen hell of variety television circa 1978. A Paul Lynde-like has-been/never-was namedropper nonpareil, year after year, he plays host to a who’s-who of contemporary kitsch. Except, maybe not this year. Rip’s laid up in quarantine with the ‘rona, natch. What’s worse: Ryan Seacrest might snipe his gig. Nothing to do but stuff his nurse’s drugs down the hatch and dream up his show."