If you’ve not been initiated to the world of Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys, what can you expect from their holiday themed show, “Something Strange” at the Crystal Ballroom Nov. 22? Says singer/dancer/actor Mary Widow, “It’s a combination theatrical tribute, burlesque drag, rock and roll show.” Adds singer and ringleader Walter Alice Sickert, “That’s why it’s so hard to make flyers for this show. How do we fit that all on there?”

It’s also a highlight of the local band’s year. The Toys think of this show as a “cover song,” but instead of a tune they’re covering a movie: Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Though they’re taking liberties with the plot, they include all of Danny Elfman’s music and some of their own.  The movie blew Sickert’s mind as a kid: “My mom took me to see it on my birthday. I loved the whole world that was created. I always loved monsters when I was little, but here it was monsters that sang and danced, and have a community and love each other for who they are.”

This of course is also what the Broken Toys are all about, having long been a rallying point for free-thinking creative types. Says Widow, “Whether we are in politically turmoiled times like we are now, or in the past when it was less outwardly scary, we as a group are always very love-focused, community-focused, gay rights and trans rights and everybody’s rights up front. Whether it’s art that you consider goofy or sexy or whatever, it’s the making of the art and bringing it together with the audience that’s really important.”

Adds Sickert, “It’s about taking the moment and realizing that this group of people is worth fighting for. I start every show with a talk about my social anxiety and how hard it is to connect with people. And I say, ‘The thing that connects us all tonight is that we all want to be safe and be who we are.’ ”

The holiday show was launched a decade ago, and there have been memorable evenings: Accordionist and longtime collaborator Edrie Edrie recalls that one fan went into labor during the 2017 edition, and made it through the show before hitting the hospital. Other couples met at the show and got married to the soundtrack. This year’s edition, however, will be the tenth and last. “The show is so important to us that it’s bittersweet to say goodbye to it,” Sickert says. “But now we can take that energy and put it into the next project. Our goal is always to do something bigger and stranger, that involves even more of the community.”

They assure fans that more is on the way, including the release of Sickert’s first film feature in the spring. And a new Toys performance is also on the way. Says Widow, “Everybody brings their ingredients to the magic potion, as it were. It’s a delicious collaboration with a lot of really talented weirdos,” And Edrie concludes, “…And we do collaborate deliciously.”