Clarke Hallum as Ralphie and John Bolton as The Old Man. Photo by Chris Bennion/5th Avenue Theatre.
I was probably one of the very few people in the theatre Thursday night who had never seen the iconic movie on which A Christmas Story: The Musical (at the 5th Avenue Theatre through December 30; tickets here) is based. The beloved 1983 holiday movie runs in a 24-hour marathon on TBS later this month, and many folks I know make watching it at least once a year a holiday tradition. With some fine tuning in future runs, this new musical has a good chance of becoming a holiday tradition in its own right.
You know the story. In 1940s Hammond, Indiana, young Ralphie Parker is laser-focused on one gift for Christmas: an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action 200-Shot Range Model Air Rifle, “with a compass in the stock, and this thing that tells time.” Based on the semi-autobiographical stories of New York radio host and storyteller Jean Shepherd (who also plays the narrator in the movie version), the show follows a series of comical vignettes that chronicle likely roadblocks for Ralphie achieving his goal of BB gun ownership.
With veteran Seattle actor Frank Corrado onstage as narrator Shepherd (with excellent timing), the production borrows a bit from A Prairie Home Companion by framing the production within a radio show. Like APHC, some sound effects–such as the barking of the neighbor’s dogs and mothers stomping up stairs to spank their sons for allegedly throwing the f-bomb–are provided by an excellent quartet of singers who also keep the period Christmas music going throughout. The radio show conceit works and even gives some context to the sets that are more suggestive than realistic.
The real standout–even among the NYC-based actors in the show–is 11-year-old Clarke Hallum from Olympia. Hallum was cast after a nationwide search, and he is fantastic. His mezzo voice is as strong and nuanced as you’d hear from any singing child actor on Broadway. His performance is charming without being cloying, and he doesn’t go for the cheap laugh. Corrado, who at one point staggers about the stage…milking it just a bit too long, could take a cue. He deserved every bit of the standing ovation that Seattle audiences are so quick to give.
You could tell that most of the audience knew the movie; laughter in anticipation would start as soon as key set pieces would drop in. Every key bit of the movie is here: the flagpole, the snow suit, “Ohhhh…Fuuuudge…,” the “Fa, ra, ra, ra, ra” of the Chinese waiter, the pink bunny suit, and of course, the leg lamp–oh, that fishnet covered “major award.” NYC actor John Bolton plays Ralphie’s dad, “The Old Man,” with glee (small “g”). His show-stopper number, “The Genius of Cleveland Street” is wonderful and features a Rockette-like kickline of leg lamps that somehow doesn’t seem gratuitous. The other child actors are good, especially Dexter Johnson as Flick–who manages to sing the hilarious “Sticky Situation” with his tongue stuck to the flagpole.
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s score serves the production well. Most of the music is fine but not too memorable. The exception is the Rawhide-inflected “Ralphie to the Rescue” dream sequence in which the Red Ryder-toting Ralphie fights off a crew of pirates, Snidely Whiplash, the Bride of Frankenstein, bears and tigers to save his town. “Somewhere Hovering Over Indiana,” sung by the Ralphie, his brother Randy and the kids, is pretty and captures a child’s view of Santa’s magic journey on Christmas Eve.
After the 5th Avenue run, the production team–which includes Peter Billingsley, the original Ralphie from the movie–will work on getting the show to Broadway. With the 5th’s track record of success in taking shows from Seattle to NYC, along with the built-in audience for this new musical, we should see that come to pass. A few years from now, my guess is you’ll be seeing productions of A Christmas Story: The Musical at community theatres from Miami to, well, Hammond, Indiana.