A Christmas Story on Stage

Everybody loves Ralphy, Randy, The Old Man, pink bunny slippers, and of course the official 200-shot Red Ryder air rifle. Author, radio personality, and master of comedic hyperbole ("...Scut Farkus staring out at us with his yellow eyes. He had yellow eyes! SO HELP ME GOD, YELLOW EYES!!") Jean Shepherd co-wrote the movie A Christmas Story in 1983 based on his short stories, some of which were based on his true life experiences, some on fiction. To be honest, no one but Mr. Shepherd knew how much of the former was mixed with the latter.

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Topeka, KS playwright Phil Grecian adapted the movie to the stage in 2000. Eight years later, the script found its way to Lawrence, KS. Director Charles Goolsby ably assisted by stage manager Lydia Shontz (my adorable and talented daughter) coralled a cast of more than a dozen child actors and nearly as many adults onto the stage of the Lawrence Community Theatre for what will total eleven hilarious shows this holiday season. I designed the promotional poster for this production in exchange for four tickets to the December 4th show.

Aside from the professional production value - including detailed sets, period-appropriate costumes, and spot-on dialogue - the complexity of the production combined with the daunting task of keeping a gaggle of children as young as nine on task for weeks of rehearsals and performances was awe inspiring.

I was a bit concerned that the charm of the movie would be lost in translation to the stage, but that just didn't happen. I enjoyed the play every bit as much as the movie, and in some ways even more. Somehow, Grecian managed to work every memorable scene from the movie into the script. And director Goolsby blocked the actor's positions so well that no one in the audience missed any of the comedy - even on the tiny thrust stage with seating on three sides.

What I love most about live theater is its three-dimensional quality; the ability to move around the set in your mind while directing your attention to any actor without regard to whether they are important to the scene at any given moment is impossible with two-dimensional media like TVs or projection screens. (Don't worry, I won't launch into why I hate TV; you can read about that here if you want to know.)

Beside the quality of the performances, I love that my daughter had such an important role in putting the production together. She has always been a theater kid, both on-stage and off. Now she's a theater woman (well, young woman - let's not get ahead of ourselves here), and I couldn't be prouder.

She also got me the design gig, so I got that going for me. Which is nice.

Now back to the drawing board.

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