Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Quick Hit Theater Review: A Christmas Story, The Musical

Photo from Kansas City Production. Credit: Don Ipock and Kansas City Rep
A Christmas Story, the Musical
Book by Joseph Robinette
Music & Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
Directed by John Rando
Choreography by Warren Carlyle

Summary:
All I want for Christmas if for this show to come to New York.

Jean Shepherd's classic film "A Christmas Story" comes to life in a bigger-than-life production that is fun, heartwarming and of a better production quality than any of the recent holiday musicals we have seen in the Great White Way. A tour of the show opened last night in Hershey, PA before heading to Detroit, Raleigh, NS, Tampa and Chicago.

Heading a really great cast is the beautifully voiced Clarke Hallum as Ralphie, who wants only one thing for Christmas: a Red Ryder carbine action BB gun. He schemes to let his parents (Rachel Bay Jones and John Bolton) know and even writes an essay about it for his teacher, Miss Shields (Karen Mason). But even Santa (Adam Pelty) doesn't think it's a good idea. He might shoot his eye out!

The humor of the movie is translated seemlessly into the musical format. All of your favorite scenes are there: the ugly leg lamp, bullies Farkus and Dill (Charlie Plummer, John Francies Barbo) and the flagpole, Randy (Matthew Lewis) stuck in his snowsuit and even the neighbor's dogs, thanks to Foley Artist (Nick Gaswirth) who provides sound effects for the radio chat narrated by Shepherd (Gene Weygandt).

Pasek's score is jazzy and fun, if a little on the long side. Orchestrations are by Larry Blank; musical supervision by Ian Eisendrath. Scenes unfold with huge sets (Walt Spangler) enhanced by colorful costumes ranging from every day clothes to bunny suits (Elizabeth Hope Clancy, design) and Carlyle's choreography. Lighting is by Howell Binkley.

Highlights:
Hallum is outstanding. Rarely have I seen a kid this age with such a good singing voice who is a master actor as well. All of the kids are triple threats. It's one of the strongest kid ensembles I have seen. All of the performances are top notch. Bolton brings a lot of humor to "The Old Man" and has the audience in stitches with his prolonged mumbled profanities. Weygandt virtually channels Shepherd and his recollections of that 1940 Indiana Christmas.

Rando's skillful direction brings out in-depth performances. He keeps the action intimate and the story's message in focus in the midst of colossal sets and full production numbers with a large cast. I particularly liked a scene where Shepherd and Ralphie, dressed similarly, stand next to each other as the one acts out the other's memory of himself. There are a few other subtle encounters between the two as well, which is a nice touch.
"Ralphie to the Rescue," a fantasy sequence in which Ralph imagines saving everyone with his BB gun is tight, imaginative, fun and well executed. Dance arrangements by Glen Kelly.

Lowlights:
Not every event needs to be told musically, and a few of the 23 songs could be cut to trim the two-and-a-half-hour run time (the first act is 1:45). Prime candidates to go would be "Up on Santa's Lap," "He's Blind" and  "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out." a fantasy number for Miss Shields which did little to advance the story and failed to showcase Mason's substantial vocal talents.

The father's mumbled-grumbled swearing is very funny and doesn't grow old. The bit should be used throughout the show instead of inserting a few of the real McCoys from time to time. This should be a family-friendly show, after all.

Information:
One of the show's producers is the film’s original Ralphie, Peter Billingsley. For more information about the show and the tour, visit www.aChristmasStoryTheMusical.com. The tour schedule is:

November 8 – 13
Hershey, PA
Hershey Theatre
www.hersheytheatre.com

November 15 – 27
Detroit, MI
Fisher Theatre
www.broadwayindetroit.com

November 29 – December 4
Raleigh, NC
Memorial Auditorium
www.progressenergycenter.com

December 6 –11
Tampa, FL
Straz Center
www.strazcenter.org

December 14 – 30
Chicago
Chicago Theatre
www.thechicagotheatre.com

Christians might also like to know:
--Lord's name taken in vain
--Language

-- Lauren Yarger, at the opening Nov. 8 in Hershey.
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Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.

** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

My Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York. Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run. She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.

She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.

She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.

She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter. Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

Copyright

All material is copyright 2008- 2024 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com

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Key to Content Notes:

God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.

Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.

Strong Language -- means some of the more heavy duty curse words are used.

Nudity -- means a man or woman's backside, a man's lower front or a woman's front are revealed.

Scantily clad -- means actors' private areas are technically covered, but I can see a lot of them.

Sexual Language -- means the dialogue contains sexually explicit language but there's no action.

Sexual Activity -- means a man and woman are performing sexual acts.

Adultery -- Means a married man or woman is involved sexually with someone besides their spouse. If this is depicted with sexual acts on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Sex Outside of Marriage -- means a man and woman are involved sexually without being married. If this is depicted sexually on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Homosexuality -- means this is in the show, but not physically depicted.

Homosexual activity -- means two persons of the same sex are embracing/kissing. If they do more than that, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Cross Dresser -- Means someone is dressing as the opposite sex. If they do more than that on stage the listing would include the corresponding "sexual activity" and/or "homosexual activity" as well.

Cross Gender -- A man is playing a female part or a woman is playing a man's part.

Suggestive Dancing -- means dancing contains sexually suggestive moves.

Derogatory (category added Fall 2012) Language or circumstances where women or people of a certain race are referred to or treated in a negative and demeaning manner.

Other content matters such as torture, suicide, or rape will be noted, with details revealed only as necessary in the review itself.

The term "throughout" added to any of the above means it happens many times throughout the show.

Reviewing Policy

I receive free seats to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle. Journalistically, I provide an unbiased review and am under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows my readers want to know about I will purchase a ticket. If a personal friend is involved in a production, I'll let you know, but it won't influence a review. If I feel there is a conflict, I won't review their portion of the production.

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