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<\/a>Photo by Craig Schwartz.<\/p><\/div>\n
Mr. X and I have watched various parts of every\u00a0A Christmas Story<\/em>\u00a0movie marathon that has run on TBS for almost two decades now! It’s just not Christmas without at least one<\/em> viewing of the 1940ish childhood angst!<\/p>\n 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?!<\/p>\n So I thank the Ahmanson Theatre for not only finally bringing it to my attention, but for giving all<\/em> of us Southern Californians the opportunity to see this whimsical, charming, and energetic musical.<\/p>\n A\u00a0Christmas Story, The Musical<\/em>\u00a0is 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\u00a0at the center of it all,) receiving a secret decoder ring from the\u00a0Little Orphan Annie<\/em>\u00a0radio show, so that’s no loss.<\/p>\n Photo by Craig Schwartz.<\/p><\/div>\n In case you’ve never seen the original film this Broadway musical is based on, (and if so, who\u00a0are<\/em>\u00a0you???,) 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<\/em>, 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.<\/p>\n 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, \u201cYou’ll shoot your eye out.\u201d (Hence, my one problem with the narrative in today’s world\u2014guns.) [Note: I\u2019m 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.]<\/p>\n (L-R) Charlie Stover, Shelley Regner, and Addalie Burns in the big tap number. Photo by Craig Schwartz.<\/p><\/div>\n The tale is all put to music by Pasek and Paul, the duo who brought us the score for\u00a0La La Land\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Dear Evan Hansen<\/em>, (neither of which I’m a fan, by the way. But, as the title of this e-zine states, it’s not about me.)<\/p>\n I am<\/em> a fan, a major one, of all the clever, perfectly-done production numbers in this<\/em> one, choreographed by the prolific Warren Carlyle. They’re my favorite parts of the show. In the movie, I hate Ralphie’s \u201cfantasy\u201d sections, but the big musical number about them, Ralphie to the Rescue<\/em>, is really fun.\u00a0 It was one of the highlights for me, actually.<\/p>\n Then comes A Major Award<\/em>, complete with a chorus line of…leg lamps!\u00a0 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<\/em> the act, as I\u2019m sure many others have felt through the years. The producers should really look into changing that, even at this late date.<\/p>\n The A Major Award number, with Eric Petersen in the center. Photo by Craig Schwartz.<\/p><\/div>\n The brilliant second half tap extravaganza, You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out<\/em>, 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.<\/p>\n A\u00a0Christmas Story, The Musical<\/em> features a pretty big cast of all multi-talented actors, singers, and dancers. And the best part is that they all look thrilled\u00a0to be entertaining us!<\/p>\n The Opening Night happy curtain call. Photo by Karen Salkin, as is the one at the top of this review.<\/p><\/div>\n The child actors are all absolutely excellent! Between the comedy, singing, and especially dancing<\/em>, they all do, there’s a lot<\/em> 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 \u201creading with expression,\u201d (or seem just plain old obnoxiously full of themselves,) but every single one of the kids in A\u00a0Christmas Story, The Musical<\/em> perform their roles exactly right. I cannot tell you how impressed I am with the lot of them.<\/p>\n As a former elementary school teacher, the youngest duo were my faves. Henry Witcher as little brother Randy, and\u00a0Zeke Bernier as Grover Dill, (the bully’s \u201ctoady,\u201d) 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.<\/p>\n While I’m on the kids, one of the things that made me laugh the most is the character \u201cFlick,\u201d (played by Jack Casey,) trying to sing with his tongue stuck to the pole! That is a quick riot.<\/p>\n Photo by Craig Schwartz.<\/p><\/div>\n Mr. X said the strongest voice of the cast belongs to former American Idol<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n I’m also a fan of the very<\/em> 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!)<\/p>\n The PJ scene. Guess which one I actually own! Photo by Craig Schwartz.<\/p><\/div>\n One of the most fun aspects of this musical is that the next-door neighbor’s two dogs are played by\u2026real dogs! When we saw the show, the first time the canines ran across the stage, the audience screamed with surprised delight. I really didn\u2019t want to spoil that initial visual for you, but I promise you that you\u2019ll 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\u2019t come out for the curtain call.)<\/p>\n The photo op area in the lobby. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n 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\u2019s a (sort-of) replica of part of the movie\u2019s 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.\u00a0 There was a very long line pre-show, so I didn\u2019t have the rudeness to ask her to do some more with no<\/em> flash, just in case those would be better. (But I\u2019m just about sure that flash is the way to go. Or just put it on auto and leave it to chance.)<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>