“A Christmas Story”

Jean Shepherd’s collection of semi-autobiographical short stories, “In God We Trust,” “All Others Pay Cash,” originally published by Playboy in the 1960s, inspired the 1983 movie A Christmas Story, which in turn led to this stage play adaptation by Philip Grecian in 2000. “Nine-year-old Ralphie Parker takes us on a hysterical, hijinks-filled avalanche of adventure filled with all the trappings of a perfect family holiday,” a press blurb would have us believe. Throw in the mix an exploding furnace, a wet tongue on a cold lamppost, a Red Ryder range bb gun with a compass in the stock, and a wild rash of theatrical fantasies. “Shepherd tapped into our core memories of what it was like to be a child at Christmas time,” says Artistic Director Matt Torney: “The longing for a specific gift, the navigating of last-minute school assignments, the pain of wearing thirteen layers to go out in the snow.” The cast features Robin Bloodworth as The Old Man, Maria Rodriguez-Sager as Mother, and Max Walls as Ralphie; Tom Key returns to Theatrical Outfit as Ralph, and direction is by Rosemary Newcott. — Kevin C. Madigan