BROADWAY BEYOND LOUISVILLE Review: A CHRISTMAS STORY: THE MUSICAL at The Aronoff Center

A CHRISTMAS STORY: THE MUSICAL

Music and Lyrics by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul

Book by Joseph Robinette

Directed by Matt Lenz

Review by Taylor Clemons

Entire contents copyright © 2017 Taylor Clemons. All rights reserved.

A CHRISTMAS STORY the movie, has been a pop culture staple since it's original release in 1983. Growing more and more of a rapid following since release, the film has secured it's title of that of an American classic. Therefore, it only seems fitting that the story be adapted into a musical. The show had a rough start early on when producers fired the original song writers in favor of an up and coming duo, Pasek & Paul (Who have gone on to win awards for the film La La Land and the newly crowned Best Musical Dear Evan Hansen. The show toured in the winter of 2011 with the new team on board, and the next year, A CHRISTMAS STORY would open on Broadway for the 2012 holiday season. The show got positive notices, and would go on to be nominated for Best Musical at the 2013 Tony Awards, despite it's closure six months prior. Now, a non-equity version of the Broadway production has hit the road this holiday season for the fourth year in a row.

The story is simple. We first meat Jean Shepherd (Chris Carsten), a radio show host. It's Christmas Eve, and he has taken to his radio show to tell the story of Ralphie Parker (Tristan Klaphake) and one of the craziest Decembers the Parker Family would ever experience. Ralphie has made it his mission to convince his parents that the perfect Christmas gift would be a Red Ryder Carbine Action BB Gun. Mayhem unfolds on his quest to convince someone or should I say anyone, that his existence hinges on weather or not he finds that gun under the tree come Christmas morning.

The cast for this show was wonderful from top to bottom. Leading the company is Tristan Klaphake as an absolutely perfect Ralphie. His voice is incredibly strong for his age, and he attacks this score with ease. Not to mention he never misses a chance to ham it up in the show's most comedic moments. His Mother (Sara Zoe Budnik) and Old Man (Paul Nobrega) are a fitting pair. Nobrega takes more of a goofy approach to the character, which works well. His big song and dance number "Major Award" manages to bring down the house. Budnik in the more subtle of the parental roles has a lovely singing voice, and exudes a warmth that is hard to describe, despite her being on the younger side of the role's range, she manages to make us believe that she's an overworked housewife of the 1940s. The youngest Parker Family member is Randy (Evan Christy). Christy also does a wonderful job in his comedic moments. He's so adorable that the audience willfully eats out of the palm of his hand, and he knows it. The only real supporting role would be that of Raphie's teacher, (Miss) Shields (Angelica Richie). Near the beginning of Act two, Richie delivers a wonderful big band tap number with the talented child ensemble that stops the show in rapturous applause.

Sets for non-equity tours can sometimes look cheap or skimpy, but the set for this show is anything but that. The base unit of the Parker house is beautiful as well as highly functional. For other settings, the designers cleverly use set pieces and fly in backdrops. The costumes were also a lot of fun, with many actors switching into different time periods during Ralphie's daydream sequences.

This show is, in a word, exceptional. In my opinion it's the best of the "holiday" theatrical offerings, and even more so, a fantastic musical outside of the holiday sub-genre. This show makes the Grinch look terrible. If you're in Louisville, making the short drive to Cincinnati is well worth it to catch this seldom performed gem.

A CHRISTMAS STORY: THE MUSICAL Now - December 10

PROCTER & GAMBLE HALL - ARONOFF CENTER FOR THE ARTS

650 Walnut Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202

(513) 621-2787

https://www.cincinnatiarts.org

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