A CHRISTMAS STORY Aims for a NYC Holiday Run in 2012

On November 8th, A Christmas Story, The Musical! launched its National Tour at The Hershey Theatre in Hershey, PA. America's #1 Christmas movie comes to life on stage as hilarious holiday musical featuring a bright holiday score by composer/lyricist team Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Joseph Robinette based on the writings of radio humorist Jean Shepherd and the 1983 holiday film favorite. 

Today, in a piece for the New York Times, producer Jerry Goehring said that the show has received "a lot of interest" to play Broadway next year, citing what he described as "active discussions" to place A CHRISTMAS STORY in a Broadway house for a limited run during the holiday season. Goehring isn't limiting possibilities, however - he told the Times that there was a chance the production could also play "larger venues within the New York City theater community."

Tony Award winner John Rando (Urinetown, The Wedding Singer) directs the production with Warren Carlyle (Finian's Rainbow, Follies, An Evening With Hugh Jackman) choreographing. Peter Billingsley, who starred as Ralphie in the original 1983 film, also serves as a producer for the holiday tour.

A CHRISTMAS STORY currently features John Bolton (Spamalot, Contact, Titanic) as The Old Man, Gene Weygandt (Wicked, Big) as Jean Shepherd, Clarke Hallum as Ralphie and Rachel Bay Jones (Women on The Verge..., Hair) as The Mother and Matthew Lewis as Randy. Broadway favorite Karen Mason (Wonderland, Mamma Mia!, Sunset Boulevard) will play school teacher Miss Shields in an ensemble that includes John Francis Babbo, Jonathan Burke, Andrew Cristi, Sally Elting, Nick Gaswirth, Nicholas Gonzalez, Casey Gorab, Drea Gordon, Leslie Henstock, Carl Kimbrough, Sean McKnight, Mara Newbery, Lyn Philistine, Charlie Plummer, Alex Puette, Johnny Rabe, Kayla Rea, J.D. Rodriguez, Emily Rudolph, Jake Bennett Siegfried, Marguerite Willbanks, George Andrew Wolff, Kirsten Wyatt and Adam Pelty (The Scarlet Pimpernel, Steel Pier) as Santa Claus.

The five-city National Tour included engagements in Hershey (through November 13) and Detroit, MI (Fisher Theatre, Nov. 15 - 27), and just finished a run in Raleigh, NC (Memorial Auditorium, Nov. 29 - Dec. 4); it opens tomorrow in Tampa, FL, (Straz Center, Dec. 6 - Dec. 11); and then Chicago, IL (Chicago Theatre, Dec. 14 - 30). For more information, visit www.AChristmasStoryTheMusical.com.