Walnut Street's 'A Christmas Story' will convert even the grinchiest
If you love A Christmas Story, the 1983 movie about Ralphie Parker and his holiday memories of his family and fourth-grade friends, the Walnut Street Theatre's heartwarming production of the musical version will no doubt provide a new brand of syrup to enrich your schmaltzy enjoyment of the film.
If you love
A Christmas Story
, the 1983 movie about Ralphie Parker and his holiday memories of his family and fourth-grade friends, the Walnut Street Theatre's heartwarming production of the musical version will no doubt provide a new brand of syrup to enrich your schmaltzy enjoyment of the film.
If you hate the film, and its maudlin, faux nostalgia that - through 24-hour cable marathons - has now become a parody of what its originally gritty (yet admittedly warm) realism tried to spoof, well, the Walnut's heartwarming production may enthrall you, as it did me for two hours on opening night.
It helps that Joseph Robinette's book centers the plot on Ralphie's (Craig Mulhern Jr.) quest to acquire his Red Ryder BB gun, and that Justin Paul and Friends Central grad Benj Pasek's music and lyrics add a filmic pep to each scene (particularly the winning "The Genius on Cleveland Street" and the western-themed "Ralphie to the Rescue" that scores Ralphie's fantasies of saving his family with his rifle).
But it helps even more that director James Rocco cast nothing but beautiful, endearing actors in all of the adult roles. This decision alone transforms the Old Man (Christopher Sutton) from a stern and fearsome father into a likable Everyman, particularly in Sutton's ham-fisted performance. Mother (Lyn Philistine) similarly evolves from the movie's frazzled hausfrau to a cross between Stacy's Mom and June Cleaver. Philistine accentuates her appeal with a warm portrayal and joyfully nostalgic rendition of "Just Like That."
Casting the leggy Ellie Mooney as schoolteacher Miss Shields scores the triple-dog-dare-ya coup-de-grace of this show, with her sultry singing and skillful execution of choreographer Linda Goodrich's tap number, adding a bit more adult content to Ralphie's reminiscences (which Fran Prisco's Santa amplifies in the department store scene).
As in the film, original writer Jean Shepherd (Bill Van Horn) narrates Ralphie's inner life, here to a more comedic effect. A well-picked children's chorus backs up Mulhern through his many numbers, which Douglas G. Lutz's musical direction instills with a child's natural confidence (rather than the whiny, doubting, nasally drone of the movie).
Hard-core fans of the film shouldn't fret; all the clever scenes (the flagpole incident) and catchy quotes ("You'll shoot your eye out," etc.) still live in this version.
I hate to waste energy harping on a film that my relatives still force me to endure, but I just think that golden ages should be gilded. And the Walnut has done just that with Mary Folino's bright costumes, a gorgeous cast, and the kind of feel-good singing and (mostly) family-friendly tradition that I would want to enjoy every holiday.
"A Christmas Story: The Musical." Through Jan. 10 at the Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut St. Tickets: $20 to $95. Information: 215-574-3550 or walnutstreettheatre.org.