Recent Stories with tag Justin Paul

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 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 which 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. ... (more)