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.
