Adapted by Philip Grecian from Jean Shepherds’s memoir: In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash, A Christmas Story depicts the life of Ralphie, during one particular, pivotal Christmas. Ralphie lives in Hohman, Indiana, with younger brother Randy, his mom, and his dad, i. e. “The Old Man.” The narrative is provided by an actor designated as “Adult Ralphie” who describes a time before television, when he listened to Little Orphan Annie on the radio, eagerly used his secret decoder ring, and dealt with bully Scut Farkas. Randy never wants to eat anything, mother cooks meat loaf and cabbage every night (except holidays) and The Old Man is always cursing a blue streak when he must fight off the neighbor dogs or fix the antiquated heating system.
A Christmas Story is composed of of anecdotal mishaps that plague poor Ralphie (and others) during the Christmas season. He and his buddies Schwartz and Flick are just trying to make their way to school and back without Scut and his sidekick (Little Toadie) making their lives miserable. The litany of life’s unfairnesses includes: a remarkably crass “leg lamp” that (ironically) dad couldn’t have won without mom’s help, an unrevealed department store Santa that makes every single kid cry, and the time Ralphie blows his first opportunity to help dad by dropping the “F-Bomb.” [Pretty harsh, if you ask me, considering dad’s obscene outbursts.] Naturally, these incidents have their humorous side.
Perhaps A Christmas Story’s wild popularity can be attributed to its solid grounding in reality. Yes, Ralphie indulges in phantasmagorical adventures, but the world outside his private universe is all too ready to intervene. Like A Charlie Brown Christmas and The House Without A Christmas Tree, we don’t feel the content has been sanitized for our protection. There’s irony and flights of fancy but Grecian never confuses warmth with kitsch. We see the flaws in characters, but their good side too. Mama understands when Ralphie finally has a meltdown and wallops Scut. Dad saves Ralphie from wearing a bunny costume sent by his aunt. The humorous incidents feel authentic, but they’re never cruel.
I would be remiss if I neglected to give special recognition to the kids in the cast of A Christmas Story : Thomas Breda (Flick) Bella Chinn (Scut Farkas) Tanner Chinn (Schwartz) Mahder Debela (Helen) Olivia Fowler (Little Toadie) Kendall Kepner (Esther Jane) Caleb Lucas (Randy) and Mark Vasquez (Ralphie). These burgeoning actors were credible, professional, dedicated to their craft, and absolutely hilarious.
Richardson Theatre Centre presents: A Christmas Story, playing December 6th-22nd, 2019. 518 West Arapaho Road, Suite 113, Richardson, Texas 75080. (972) 699-1130. www.richardsontheatrecentre.net