A CHRISTMAS STORY- THE MUSICAL Brings Holiday Fun to San Francisco Playhouse

San Francisco Playhouse (Artistic Director Bill English; Producing Director Susi Damilano) announced casting for the second show of its 2017-18 Mainstage Season-A Christmas Story: The Musical. With music and lyrics by Tony- and Oscar-winning duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen, La La Land) and a book by Joseph Robinette, A Christmas Story is based on the classic 1983 film of the same name. Susi Damilano will direct.

Nine-year-old Ralphie Parker wants nothing more for Christmas than an official Red Ryder Carbine-Action 200-Shot Range Model Air Rifle. But first, he'll have to navigate past a maniacal department store Santa, an infamous leg lamp, a triple-dog-dare to lick a frozen flagpole, and much more. Nominated for three Tony Awards in 2013, A Christmas Story is a classic and heartfelt holiday tale backed by a magnificent score.

"There's a reason A Christmas Story is one of the most beloved holiday tales of our time," said Producing Director Susi Damilano. "This musical captures all of the joy and wonder of the original film, and enhances it with an amazing score by two of the most gifted composers of their generation." Pasek and Paul won Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Original Score for Dear Evan Hansen in 2017, and composed the lyrics for the film La La Land, winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

The cast of A Christmas Story: The Musical will feature Jonah Broscow*, Will Marchetti*, Ryan Drummond*, Abby Haug*, Jake Miller, Kavan Bhatia, David Rukin, Mario Herrera, Jack Barrett, Leo Sens, Matilda Holtz, Sammy Vernick, Panita Serizawa, Chloe Dalzell, Mira Shah, Gwen Herndon, Charlotte Ying Levy, Katrina Lauren McGraw, Ken Brill, Kathryn Han*, Alex Hsu*, Sophia LaPaglia, and Ozlo Ransom Mitchell.

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Music and Lyrics)'s musical Dogfight had its world premiere at Second Stage Theatre, where it won the Lortel Award for Best New Musical. Theater credits include A Christmas Story: The Musical on Broadway, which received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle nominations for Outstanding New Broadway Musical; James and the Giant Peach; Edges. TV credits include "Smash," "Sesame Street," "Johnny and the Sprites." Pasek and Paul created the song "Unlimited" for Old Navy's 2014 back-to-school campaign, which earned them a Daytime Emmy Award nomination. Film projects include La La Land (Lionsgate), for which the song "City of Stars" received the Academy Award for Best Original Song; The Greatest Showman (FOX); Trolls (Dreamworks Animation); Medusa (Sony Pictures Animation); Tom and Jerry Return to Oz (Warner Bros Animation). Honors: Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theatre (American Academy of Arts and Letters), ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award, Jonathan Larson Award. Both are B.F.A. Musical Theatre graduates of the University of Michigan and members of the Dramatists Guild of America, Inc.

Joseph Robinette (Book) is the award-winning author of 55 published plays and musicals. His works have been produced in all 50 states and in 17 foreign countries. Twelve of his plays have been translated into foreign languages. His plays have been produced by Lincoln Center, Pittsburgh Playhouse, Barter Theatre, Laguna Playhouse, Goodman Theatre and the BBC, among others. Robinette collaborated with E.B. White on the authorized stage version of Charlotte's Web, and he wrote the musical version with Charles Strouse. Among his honors is The Children's Theatre Foundation of America Medallion for his "body of dramatic works for children and young people in the United States and beyond." Joseph is a member of the Dramatists Guild, Inc.

Founded by Bill English and Susi Damilano in 2003, San Francisco Playhouse-now in its 15th season-has been described by the New York Times as "a company that stages some of the most consistently high-quality work around," and deemed "ever adventurous" by the Bay Area News Group. Located in the heart of the Union Square Theater District, San Francisco Playhouse is the city's premier Off-Broadway company, an intimate alternative to the larger more traditional Union Square theater fare. San Francisco Playhouse provides audiences the opportunity to experience professional theater with top-notch actors and world-class design in a setting where they are close to the action. The company has received multiple awards for overall productions, acting, and design, including the SF Weekly Best Theatre Award and the Bay Guardian's Best Off-Broadway Theatre Award. KQED/NPR recently described the company: "San Francisco Playhouse is one of the few theaters in the Bay Area that has a mission that actually shows up on stage. Artistic director Bill English's commitment to empathy as a guiding philosophical and aesthetic force is admirable and by living that mission, fascinating things happen onstage." San Francisco Playhouse is committed to providing a creative home and inspiring environment where actors, directors, writers, designers, and theater lovers converge to create and experience dramatic works that celebrate the human spirit.


*Actors appear courtesy of Actors' Equity Association. FOR CALENDAR EDITORS: