One of the current Hits on Broadway, this Holiday season, is 'A
Christmas Story' and did you know it made its Debut at Seattle's 5th Ave
Theater? Below is the OUTscene Re-view by Ryan Burr from December 2010,
we assume that the new version may be different or improved from the
2010 version. Please take that in consideration.
By Ryan Burr
The music is not the most memorable take-away from the musical foray of
“A Christmas Story.” The success of the musical lies in its clever
expansion of some of the famous scenes from the film.
When the family arrives at a Christmas tree lot, Ralphie’s Old Man
starts his wheeling-and-dealing, with a successful conclusion. To
highlight this back-and-forth, human Christmas trees spring to life,
sliding and singing on the tree lot. It’s superb.
All the pre-teenagers in this musical are quite impressive, and while
many childrens’ laughs could be heard during the show, it’s by no means a
G-rated “Bambi” fest. After all, one of the most hilarious parts of the
film is when Ralphie, played by
Clarke Hallum, utters the “F-word,” which results in his soap-swallowing.
The show keeps an excellent pace throughout, with the exception of a
kind-of-slow beginning. Dazzling the packed-house at 5th Avenue Theatre
was an appearance off-stage by
Peter Billingsley, who played Ralphie in the 1983 film.
