What he didn't know helped Philly-bred composer land 'A Christmas Story' gig

Sometimes it's what you don't know that can lead to great success.

Case in point: "A Christmas Story, The Musical," which on Tuesday has its local premiere at the Walnut Street Theatre, where it will be staged through Jan. 10.

The show's score was written by Ardmore native Benj Pasek and his writing partner, Justin Paul, in 2010 when the two University of Michigan musical-theater majors were just 25. Which meant that they weren't seasoned enough to know what they were in for when they were hired to create the music for the production based on the iconic 1983 film that was, in turn, based on stories by the late humorist and author Jean Shepherd about his childhood in Depression-era Indiana.

The pair were brought on-board by the producers in March 2010 and told to have the score ready for an early November debut in Seattle.

"We were just crazy enough" not to be daunted by the time constraints, recalled Friends Select High School alum Pasek during a recent phone call.

"Usually musicals take a couple years to develop. They probably went to many more experienced people than us. I'm sure the more experienced [composers] said, 'That's an impossible task.'

"But we were so naive at 25 and so hungry, that we were, 'We'll do it! We'll do it!' We just went nuts and didn't sleep."

Making the assignment more difficult for Pasek was that, until he and Paul considered auditioning for the score-writing gig, he had never seen the movie whose annual 24-hour Christmas-Eve-into-Christmas-Day marathon on TNT has elevated its status from rather unsuccessful first-run flick to holiday staple on a par with "It's a Wonderful Life" and "Miracle on 34th Street."

"I'm a Jewish kid from Philly, so I did not grow up watching the movie," he admitted. "But what's great about 'A Christmas Story' is that there are these iconic moments from the movie that you know just from being an American, without even watching the movie. I knew there was this movie that everyone was obsessed with, where there was this kid sticking his tongue on a [freezing] flagpole."

Pasek and Paul have seen the movie by now, of course, and Pasek said he understands its allure.

"It's a film that takes the cheesiness out of the Christmas holiday and presents the way that all family holidays really are - all the trials and tribulations of being with your family and trying to make it through these family events. You want to kill each other, but that's what makes it hilarious. I have that with my own family."

Not that there weren't challenges and pressures for the youthful team, whose next project is the off-Broadway musical "Dear Evan Hansen," about a young man searching for his place in life, which is slated to open next spring. Foremost among them, he suggested, was avoiding ruining the moments in the story beloved by millions.

"We were petrified of messing up someone's favorite holiday memory," Pasek admitted. "You don't want to be the guy who ruins the leg-lamp scene."

Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut St., show times vary, $20-$95, 215-574-3550, walnutstreettheatre.org.

Speaking of holiday-related fare, an updated "Black Nativity," the iconic, 50-year-old musical by Langston Hughes, opens Thursday at Norristown's Horizon Theatre. The play, which runs through Dec. 6, tells the story of the Nativity through African and contemporary music but has a decidedly current-day bent, as its subject matter includes, among other things, Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

Theatre Horizon, 401 DeKalb St., Norristown, show times vary, $39-$49 (discounts available), 283-2230, theatrehorizon.org.

I recently noted that I saw the McCarter Theatre production of Ken Ludwig's brilliant farce, "A Comedy of Tenors," just two days after taking in Philadelphia Theatre Company's grim and self-important "Disgraced." That, I suggested, may have been part of the reason why "Tenors" seemed so hilarious to me.

Well, this time, Ludwig himself is the victim of such timing. His new comedy, "The Fox on the Fairway," premiered at Ambler's Act II Playhouse, just two weeks after "Tenors." While not without its charms, "Fairway" pales greatly by comparison.

The play, which runs through Nov. 22, is set on the weekend of an annual golf tournament between two well-heeled country clubs and boasts Ludwig's signatures, like kinetic door-slamming, nonstop wisecracking and a troupe of goofball characters. But everything seems to be a tad off: The jokes aren't as funny as they could be, and the plot, which also involves three separate romantic relationships, isn't that engaging.

The ensemble cast is certainly competent and makes no egregious errors, but there is no real standout turn. And director William Roudebush doesn't make a convincing argument that he has a flair for this kind of format.

So, better to save your money for a round on your favorite links.

Act II Playhouse, 56 E. Butler Ave., Ambler, 2 and 8 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday, 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2 p.m. Sunday, $29-$36, 215-654-0200, act2.org.

On Twitter: @chuckdarrow