By JESSICA NEU
Based on Jean Shepherd’s 1966 book In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash, A Christmas Story the play, has morphed into a holiday classic.
Beginning with the film in 1983, a limited-run Broadway musical in 2012, and also being adapted into a play, A Christmas Story has captivated the hearts of millions of people worldwide and become a pop culture juggernaut. From the iconic lamp to notable quotes (“you’ll shoot your eye out”) to little Randy being so bundled for the frosty Indiana winter that he cannot put his arms down, fans of A Christmas Story undoubtedly have a favorite line, favorite character and favorite memories of this artifact being a part of their holiday traditions.
Directed by Michael Berrresse, Philip Grecian‘s A Christmas Story stage adaptation is enjoying its run at the Pittsburgh Public Theater from December 4th – 22nd. John Shepard narrates the classic tale as Adult Ralph. Shepard leads us on a journey back to his childhood home on Cleveland Street in Indiana circa December 1939. It is there that we meet young Ralphie Parker (Avery Schneider) and his family; his loving Mother (Jamie Angello), his younger brother, Randy, (Neal Raj Wadhwa, Jr.), and his quirky yet hard-working father who Ralph affectionally calls The Old Man (Tim McGeever).
As Ralph tells his story of Christmas past, we see the Parker family run into some unfortunate circumstances. Their furnace occasionally starts billowing smoke through the house, their car does not always start and often gets a flat tire, and the neighbor’s dogs particularly love to accost The Old Man.
Part of the beauty in A Christmas Story comes from how the Parker family responds to their misfortunes or bad luck. Instead of becoming disgruntled or delving into martyrdom, the Parkers are filled with an almost altruistic love for one another. From the way she redirects Randy’s toddler-like antics to the care she shows for Ralphie when he confronts Farkas (Eamonn McElfresh), the town bully, Angello exudes compassion, empathy, and tenderness. She is deeply intelligent and takes a quiet, calm control over the family. The Old Man, albeit quirky, adores his family. McGeever portrays The Old Man with energy, charisma, and an underlying angst to be recognized or noticed. When he is not teaching his sons a new vocabulary of hilarious profanity while fixing the furnace or gleefully asking his wife to get the perfect Christmas turkey, The Old Man loves to enter countless newspaper contests so that one day, he may be a “winner.” The Old Man wants to win at life, to be a “somebody.” The Old Man’s fortitude leads to him winning a prize from one of the contests he entered. The prize, of course, is the iconic lamp with a woman’s leg as the base. The Old Man is thrilled with his lamp and the attention it draws from the neighbors. Mother’s opposing indignation results in scenes that resemble the comedic genius of I Love Lucy or Avid and Costello.
The scenes involving lamp-generated debauchery are just a few that drew audible laughs and applause from the audience.
As Ralphie and Randy venture out into the blistery Indiana winter each day to walk to and from school, they encounter their friends Flick (Rohan Parekh), Esther Jane Alberry (Caris Tomaceski), Helen Weathers (Louisa Anne Butler), and Schwartz (Ezekiel Tiago Dunn). Whether they were being terrorized by Farkas, sitting in class, or double dog daring each other to lick a frozen pole, these children were sheer perfection. Each child took command of the stage, never broke character, and charmed their way into our hearts and minds. From Schwartz complaining about his sore arm to Esther Jane trying to get Ralphie’s attention to Randy screaming either in elation for Santa or in need to go potty, the children truly stole the show. Schneider anchored the ensemble, never missing a beat as young Ralphie. Determined to get a Red Ryder range carbine-action, 200-shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and a time-telling feature for Christmas, Ralphie orchestrates a creative plan to achieve his dream, all the while imagining himself as a real-life Cowboy coming to save the day.
Part of his plan is to convince his teacher, Miss Shields (Hope Anthony), that he deserves such a toy and will not in fact “shoot his eye out.” Anthony embodies the notion that there is no such thing as a small part as she commands the stage and delivers a performance that audiences will remember for years. She is loving, animated, and simply hilarious as she guides the students to winter break.
Amidst all the wonderful character acting, Shepard remains stoic as the narrator. He retells his story with fondness, adoration, and a longing to return to such a magical time. He moves about the stage with a gentle presence and watches as he reflects on such rich memories. Listening to Shepard is like hearing the perfect bedtime story after a long day of playing in the snow—so bundled that you cannot move your arms but also so full of laughter and warmth.
Berresse’s production of A Christmas Story is undoubtedly a highlight of the 2024 Pittsburgh Public Theater season. The cast takes the show to a new level, but the heart of the story remains.
A Christmas Story taps into a cultural zeitgeist and need for nostalgia, which is one of the reasons that it remains one of the most beloved Christmas works of the 20th century. Mother and The Old Man can be any of our parents. Whether you grew up in the 1930s and 40s in Indiana or the late 1980s in Pittsburgh, you remember the simpler times when you made a special trip to get a Christmas turkey and went to that one department store downtown to see Santa and do all your shopping, when kids were kids, when you sent away for a toy and waited for what felt like a lifetime for it to arrive. Getting in trouble was as terrifying as when you came down to eat dinner with your family when your dad arrived home from work and when your imagination was all needed. Back when you could enter a trivia contest through a newspaper because you could not Google the answers.
A Christmas Story is special. It represents a part of all of us. And Berresse’s direction makes The Old Man’s lamp shine just a bit brighter – much to Mother’s chagrin, of course.
TICKETS AND DETAILS
Pittsburgh Public Theater’s production of A Christmas Story at the O’Reilly Theater has performances now through December 22nd, 2024. More info and tickets at https://ppt.org/production/94455/a-christmas-story-the-play
Categories: Arts and Ideas, Reviews
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