After 17 years of Stardust holiday schmaltz-fests, Harlequin director Linda Whitney outsourced her holiday revue-writing to James Hindman and Ray Roderick of Miracle or 2 Productions, authors of 2003's A Christmas Survival Guide. From a critical standpoint, it's a welcome change, especially since this anthology's aimed squarely at cynical adults weary of the hustle, bustle, and rabid commercialism of 21st-century holidays. It plays to the Whitneys' principal strengths: live pop music, technical design and intelligence (in no particular order). It also introduces diminutive spitfire Amy Shephard, newly returned from grad school at Exeter, to the Harlequin stage, where she joins revue regulars Antonía Darlene and Christian Doyle.

Speaking of Whitney's design skills, her lush unit set works well throughout the show, and Olivia Burlingame's twinkly lighting design is one of the best of the year. Props also to stage manager Gina Salerno for split-second timing, and to Harlequin's uncredited video designer (and reader Andy Gordon) for bringing the titular self-help book to life.

Traditional favorites like "Amazing Grace," "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" and 1950's "The Man With the Bag" are smoothly interspersed with more contemporary numbers. Among the latter are a lovely arrangement of "All Those Christmas Clichés" by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and a comic solo by Jason Robert Brown called "Surabaya Santa," in which Mrs. Claus morphs into Marlene Dietrich. It's the highlight of the show, adding wit to Darlene's reliable powerhouse of a voice.

I've known Shephard for several years, costarred with her in a show, and reviewed her fondly in several others. Even so, I had no idea she could sing, at least not as sweetly as she does here. She may not have Darlene's breath control, nor does she have Doyle's range, but she rounds out her vocal chops with obvious sincerity. All three handle Jessica Low's fluid choreography with aplomb. The house band is on point as ever; pianist Brian Kinsella becomes a frequent participant in the action.

I've already praised Doyle's skills as an impressionist, thanks to his memorable turn as Charlie Chaplin in last year's revival of Stardust Serenade. This time around, he gets to bust out a bell-bottomed King of Rock and Roll and, for a cheesy penultimate sermon, the King of Pop to boot. It's no slam on Doyle to say that song selection lands the show on a wonky, cheesy note. Even so, we leave the theater humming and, as the show intends, braced for the holiday onslaught. My wife and I saw three Christmas shows in two busy days. All three received standing ovations. I'm not sure any of them were superior enough to deserve them, but this show came closest by far.

Note: showtimes include a Christmas Eve matinée at 2 p.m. and a New Year's Eve closer at 7 p.m.

HARLEQUIN PRODUCTIONS, A CHRISTMAS SURVIVAL GUIDE, THROUGH DEC. 30, 8 P.M. THURSDAY- SATURDAY, 2 P.M. SUNDAY, $25-$38, 202 FOURTH AVE. E., OLYMPIA, 360.786.0151