COMEDY

It's not as dirty as you think. Well, it kinda is. Moreover, it's the irreverent punch line to one of the Waitstaff's 2005 holiday show sketches.

The Waitstaff comedy troupe formed three years ago when Jim Boyle rounded up five of his bestest friends; the eclectic crew has more than doubled in size since and now boasts a UPS delivery man and Drexel professor, among other day-jobbers. Most of the troupe members have backstage, onstage or on-camera experience and carry resumes listing the city's minor-league majors (Azuka, Fictitious and Vagabond theater groups, to name a few).

The holiday show—which has sold out the last two years in a row—features singing, dancing, politicking, choreographed slap-sticking and plenty of naughty sketches. And we do mean sketch, i.e. a skit written and rehearsed long before it hits the stage. This is an important distinction to make—and one that'll have you ousted from a show if you get all Whose Line Is It Anyway? between scene changes. Fans of the troupe's First Friday performances will thrill at the classic parodies ("Silent Night, Good Jewish Girl"), myth-debunking monologues ("Christmas Cookie Monster") and skits ("Joseph's Bachelor Party"). Just don't expect Mom and Dad to be thrilled with your own fireside rendition of their "Shaved Like a Christmas Tree." It really only works at The Five Spot.

The Waitstaff: Holiday Show, Fri., Dec. 2, 9:30 p.m., $15, The Five Spot, 5 S. Bank St., 215-574-0070, www.thewaitstaff.com.