A CHRISTMAS STORY, THE MUSICAL

What a marvelous holiday season show this is! A Christmas Story, The Musical is the true embodiment of the statement, “Fun for the whole family!” (And what better activity for Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve day?!)

Mr. X and I have watched various parts of every A Christmas Story movie marathon that has run on TBS for almost two decades now! It’s just not Christmas without at least one viewing of the 1940ish childhood angst!

Yet, somehow, I had never even heard of this classic 1983 movie being turned into a musical, which opened on Broadway in…2012! How is that even possible?!

So I thank the Ahmanson Theatre for not only finally bringing it to my attention, but for giving all of us Southern Californians the opportunity to see this whimsical, charming, and energetic musical.

A Christmas Story, The Musical is wonderful holiday entertainment, whether or not you’re familiar with the movie. It includes almost every vignette in the film, except, (thankfully,) for the confusing bit about Ralphie, (the young boy at the center of it all,) receiving a secret decoder ring from the Little Orphan Annie radio show, so that’s no loss.

In case you’ve never seen the original film this Broadway musical is based on, (and if so, who are you???,) the scenario is basically a series of vignettes of holiday time mayhem in the life of young Indianan Ralphie, (played here by a game Kai Edgar,) and his family of four. And it’s all narrated by him as a grown-up. The narrator is never seen in the film, but in the case of this musical, the adult character, (played by perfect-for-the-assignment Chris Carsten,) is on stage, recalling the magic of that long-ago Christmas season for his radio audience.

The thread, though, is that Ralphie is desperate for a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas, and the lengths to which he’ll go to ensure that he’ll get it. The problem, of course, is that his mother won’t let him have one because, as she (along with several others) tells him, “You’ll shoot your eye out.” (Hence, my one problem with the narrative in today’s world—guns.) [Note: I’m going to leave my socially-conscious comments, about firearms, toy or otherwise, until the end. Some of what I have to say on the topic is a tad of a conundrum for me because it involves my favorite number in the show.]

The tale is all put to music by Pasek and Paul, the duo who brought us the score for La La Land and Dear Evan Hansen, (neither of which I’m a fan, by the way. But, as the title of this e-zine states, it’s not about me.)

I am a fan, a major one, of all the clever, perfectly-done production numbers in this one, choreographed by the prolific Warren Carlyle. They’re my favorite parts of the show. In the movie, I hate Ralphie’s “fantasy” sections, but the big musical number about them, Ralphie to the Rescue, is really fun.  It was one of the highlights for me, actually.

Then comes A Major Award, complete with a chorus line of…leg lamps!  It made me wish that I had seen Eric Petersen, (who plays the father here,) play Shrek on Broadway back in the day. But Mr. X and I both felt that the lively number should have ended the act, as I’m sure many others have felt through the years. The producers should really look into changing that, even at this late date.

The brilliant second half tap extravaganza, You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out, performed by Shelley Regner as the teacher, Miss Shields, (along with all the astonishing kids in the cast,) brought the house down on opening night, as I’m sure it always does. My hands actually hurt from applauding so vehemently. Musicals hardly ever showcase tap dancing anymore, so this was an extra joy to witness.

A Christmas Story, The Musical features a pretty big cast of all multi-talented actors, singers, and dancers. And the best part is that they all look thrilled to be entertaining us!

The child actors are all absolutely excellent! Between the comedy, singing, and especially dancing, they all do, there’s a lot for them to remember, and there was not a misstep the entire opening night. Usually kids in live theatre either overdo it, or are just sort-of “reading with expression,” (or seem just plain old obnoxiously full of themselves,) but every single one of the kids in A Christmas Story, The Musical perform their roles exactly right. I cannot tell you how impressed I am with the lot of them.

As a former elementary school teacher, the youngest duo were my faves. Henry Witcher as little brother Randy, and Zeke Bernier as Grover Dill, (the bully’s “toady,”) are just adorbs. And they’re actually very good little performers. I always love the scene with little Randy getting into his snowsuit, and dealing with it on the way to school, and Henry keeps it up perfectly without laughing through it himself.

While I’m on the kids, one of the things that made me laugh the most is the character “Flick,” (played by Jack Casey,) trying to sing with his tongue stuck to the pole! That is a quick riot.

Mr. X said the strongest voice of the cast belongs to former American Idol contestant, Sabrina Sloane, who plays the mother. I remember her from that competition, so it was interesting to see her as a grown-up now, one with tons of musical credits since that long ago time.

As to the visual aspects of the presentation, they’re all first-rate. The colorful sets are fabulous. I especially appreciated the occasional snow globe effect.

I’m also a fan of the very many costumes. What an immense job putting them together must have been. I got a big kick out of all the children’s pajamas towards the end. (I’m ashamed to admit that I actually own the ugliest nightie! But I swear–it was a gift from my mother, not my own choice. A wardrobe person would have a field day in my closets!)

One of the most fun aspects of this musical is that the next-door neighbor’s two dogs are played by…real dogs! When we saw the show, the first time the canines ran across the stage, the audience screamed with surprised delight. I really didn’t want to spoil that initial visual for you, but I promise you that you’ll still get a major kick out of them, as we all did the subsequent times they showed up. (I just felt bad that they didn’t come out for the curtain call.)

As if I could not love the Ahmanson more than I already have for decades now, there are some special touches in the theatre. The main one, a lovely photo op in the lobby, is for everyone. It’s a (sort-of) replica of part of the movie’s living room, and they have a staff member right there to take pix of you and your posse. The woman who snapped Mr. X and me said she takes three straight-up and then three horizontally, so you have several to choose from, which is really thoughful. I put the flash on for ours, so I suggest you do that for yours, as well.  There was a very long line pre-show, so I didn’t have the rudeness to ask her to do some more with no flash, just in case those would be better. (But I’m just about sure that flash is the way to go. Or just put it on auto and leave it to chance.)

The final fabulous surprise was a special one just for opening night and a few upcoming special event performances, but it’s so fun that I’m sure you’d like to hear about it. As we were all leaving, (in the most upbeat way, I might add, because that’s the effect the show has on its audiences,) I saw the ticket-takers at the exits, handing something out to everyone. At first I assumed it was a promotional flyer, but then I noticed they were grabbing something bigger from giant containers on the floor. And it was boxes of…fudge! To go along with the main character, Ralphie, saying something worse than “fudge” in the show! As a matter of fact, a photo of Peter Billingsley, (who plays Ralphie in the movie,) is on the box.  It is so adorable and appreciated.  It made me happier than ever to be a perennial Ahmanson first-nighter.

A Christmas Story, The Musical running through December 31, 2023
Ahmanson Theatre  135 N. Grand Avenue
213-972-4400 www.centertheatregroup.org

Now, as a socially-conscious person, I feel like I must add this thought on the gun (though it’s a toy one) aspect of this tale:

As much as I love this story, which takes place in a much more innocent time than the one we’re all suffering through right now, I still have a bit of a hard time with the BB gun theme. But, since Ralphie’s deep desire for that famous-at-the-time BB gun is the raison d’être for the story to begin with, there’s absolutely nothing that can be done differently. A Christmas Story, The Musical is the perfect show for this time of year, and the scenario lends itself to being a musical, and I loved it. But it was a bit hard for me at times.

I get upset and honestly a little bit sick when I see anything about guns, especially around students. I was trying to ignore it in this show, but when the tap-dancing teacher mimed shooting Ralphie, to the line, “You’ll shoot your eye out,” though it was only for a couple of seconds, and hilarious, I have to admit that I cringed a tiny bit.

So if that happens to you, too, just remind yourself this is an entertainment, and enjoy the show. And use the little reminder of widespread gun violence to work on change in the real world.