Nashville Rep's Holiday Tradition is More Family Than Ever

Nashville audiences can look forward to the warm-hearted and comedic holiday treat when Nashville Repertory Theatre produces A Christmas Story for an eighth consecutive season. This familiar story of young Ralphie's wintertime woes has become a tradition that many Middle Tennessee families eagerly attend year after year.

A quintessential classic, A Christmas Story will be performed in TPAC's Johnson Theater Nov. 26 - Dec. 21, 2016.

The Production Sponsor for A Christmas Story is Regions Bank.

The 2016-17 season's cast reunites many of the actors from last season's popular production but also presents two new cast members: Jack E. Chambers and Brett Cantrell. In a case of art imitating life, Chambers will play "The Old Man" opposite his real-life wife Megan Murphy Chambers as she plays "Mother." This will be the first time Chambers and Chambers have played an onstage married couple in a full production.

"He's pretty much my favorite person onstage and off," says Chambers of her husband. "I truly can't wait to spend the holidays telling this story with my real-life, puzzle-solving, turkey-loving, foul-mouthed curmudgeon husband. I am so grateful to The Rep for the gift of more time with him this Christmas."

About the Show

This all-American holiday tale is set in 1940's Indiana and focuses on Ralphie Parker, a boy with One Dream: to own a Red Ryder Carbon Action BB gun. As Ralphie plots to convince his parents of the undeniable validity of his Christmas wish, he and his friends routinely cross paths with the neighborhood bully, navigate confusing conversations with the girls in his class, and witness his parents' passive-aggressive battle regarding a "major award." With witty charm and family warmth, Nashville Rep's A Christmas Story is a deeply established Nashville institution.

Nashville Rep's cast for A Christmas Story includes Derek Whittaker (Ralphie) Megan Murphy Chambers (Mother), Jack E. Chambers (The Old Man), Curtis Reed (Randy), Antonio P. Nappo (Scut), Mikey Rosenbaum (Flick), and Brett Cantrell(Schwartz).

A Christmas Story is adapted by Phillip Grecian, based on the motion picture A Christmas Story by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown, and Bob Clark and is directed by René D. Copeland, Nashville Rep's Producing Artistic Director. Designers are Gary C. Hoff (Scenic Designer), TrisH Clark (Costume Designer), Evelyn Thornhill (Props Master), and Michael Barnett (Lighting Designer).

A Christmas Story opens on Saturday, November 26 and runs through December 21. A discounted preview performance will be held on November 25, 2016. Specific performance dates and times are listed below.

Hat, Mitten, Scarf Drive

Nashville Rep has organized a winter clothes drive to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities of Nashville. Audience members are asked to bring new outdoor clothes (hats, mittens, scarfs) when they attend A Christmas Story. Items will be collected in the Johnson Theater lobby.

Tickets

Tickets are $25 for the preview and start at $45 for regular run. Tickets can be purchased online at nashvillerep.org or by calling the Box Office at 615-782-4040.

Nashville Rep's 2016-17 season sponsors include The HCA Foundation on behalf of HCA Tristar, Ingram Charitable Fund, Metro Nashville Arts Commission, and Tennessee Arts Commission. Lightning 100 is Nashville Rep's radio sponsor.

About Nashville Rep

Nashville Rep is a non-profit theatre creating classic and Contemporary Theatre for Nashville that inspires empathy and prods intellectual and emotional engagement in audiences. The 2016-17 season of shows includes The Last Five Years, Noises Off, A Christmas Story, Posterity, and A Raisin in the Sun.

The season concludes with the Ingram New Works Festival, which will feature a new play by Christopher Durang. The Festival is the culmination of the Ingram New Works Project, which is a locally valued and nationally recognized new play development program that cultivates and amplifies new voices for the stage and expands the creative capacity of Nashville by connecting artists and audiences across extraordinary new works.

Performances of A Christmas Story will be held in AnDrew Johnson Theatre at Tennessee Performing Arts Center, located at 505 Deaderick Street in downtown Nashville.

A Christmas Story Performance Schedule

Preview:

Friday, November 25, 2016 7:30 P.M.

Regular Run:

Saturday, November 26, 2016 7:30 P.M. (Opening night)

Sunday, November 27, 2016 2:30 P.M.

Wednesday, November 30, 2016 6:30 P.M.

Thursday, December 1, 2016 6:30 P.M.

Friday, December 2, 2016 7:30 P.M.

Saturday, December 3, 2016 2:30 P.M.

Saturday, December 3, 2016 7:30 P.M. *

Sunday, December 4, 2016 2:30 P.M.

Wednesday, December 7, 2016 6:30 P.M.

Thursday, December 8, 2016 6:30 P.M.

Friday, December 9, 2016 7:30 P.M.

Saturday, December 10, 2016 2:30 P.M.

Saturday, December 10, 2016 7:30 P.M. *

Sunday, December 11, 2016 2:30 P.M.

Wednesday, December 14, 2016 6:30 P.M.

Thursday, December 15, 2016 6:30 P.M.

Friday, December 16, 2016 7:30 P.M.

Saturday, December 17, 2016 2:30 P.M.

Saturday, December 17, 2016 7:30 P.M. *

Sunday, December 18, 2016 2:30 P.M.

Tuesday, December 20, 2016 6:30 P.M.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016 6:30 P.M.

* Denotes post-show Meet and Greet with the cast