REVIEW: 'A Christmas Story' at Tennessee Repertory Theatre

If there is a moment more joyous and heartwarming than that one moment in A Christmas Story when Ralphie Parker unwraps that last present - "the one over there, behind the drapes, under the window" - I can't imagine what it could be. Thanks to Tennessee Repertory Theatre's wonderfully evocative production of the play, based on the iconic holiday movie, if I could possibly have another more satisfying theatre experience, I could scarcely dream it.

Tennessee Rep's A Christmas Story may be as good as it gets this holiday season. Wrapped up in a spectacularly designed package by Gary Hoff and featuring the cleverly imaginative direction of Rene Dunshee Copeland, it's the one Christmas gift you owe yourself this year. And it's a surefire way to lift your spirits and make you forget all the bad news that inundates your everyday life.

Phillip Grecian's theatre script artfully includes all of the movie's highlights, all of those moments you know by heart and all of the minutiae that has made A Christmas Story a favorite for years. Based upon the wonderfully wry and witty writings of that quintessentially middle-American of mid-century essayists, Jean Shepherd (caught so vividly on film, thanks to Leigh Brown and Bob Clark), the play is not necessarily a slavish re-creation of the film, but rather an affectionate and certainly heartfelt homage.

Copeland's skilled hand is seen in every moment onstage, her practiced eye focusing on the smallest of details and her wealth of theatrical experience felt keenly in the superb ensemble performance of her merry band of seven, altogether charming and talented, actors. With Hoff's beautifully crafted and colorful set providing the ideal backdrop for the play's action - and bringing to life in TPAC's Andrew Johnson Theatre, the environs of Hohlman, Indiana, circa 1940 - this production delightfully embraces the sentimentality of the season while injecting with humor, verve and nostalgia.

Following the basic premise of the film adaptation of Shepherd's stories, book-ended if you will, by the narration of "adult" Ralphie, A Christmas Story gives you a glimpse into Americana at its best, in the halcyon days prior to America's entry into World War II, when a child's fascination with Saturday afternoon movie westerns, Little Orphan Annie's radio exploits and the fervent desire for a Red Ryder air rifle were enough to hold your rapt attention. Funny, how those same things onstage now can hold you riveted to your seat, waiting for the next encounter with bully Scut Farkus or a trip to see Santa Claus.

You don't have to be a devotee of the movie to enjoy the story that unfolds onstage. The comedy is definitely there and the story works just as well live as it does on film. Credit Grecian's well-crafted script and Copeland's visionary direction for most of that, but save a huge amount of praise and adulation for those superb players enacting all the characters (including the Old Man, Mother, Randy, Schwartz, Flick, Scut Farkus and even the Bumpuses' 780-some dogs).

Copeland's staging of the piece makes grand use of the black box that is the Johnson Theatre and she intelligently involves the audience throughout the evening in ways that make great sense and ensures that they remain completely immersed in the show's action from start to finish. Her completely original take on some of the play's best scenes (particularly the inspired nod to The Nutcracker that pays tribute to the "grand award" leg lamp) make for one hell of a good time.

I can't imagine anyone who could bring Ralphie more vividly to life than Sam Whited, who gives a winning performance as the bespectacled boy, and who authoritatively propels the action with his natural tone and inflection as narrator of the play's action. Whited is a damn good actor who possesses a personal zest for living and an almost childlike zeal for discovery that makes him the ideal choice to play Ralphie.

Whited is given the opportunity to soar thanks to the people who surround him onstage and who are uniformly outstanding in their roles. Jeff Boyet is perfect as The Old Man, blending charm and gruffness like some scientific genius - or maybe like a world-class chef - making you remember fondly and wistfully the movie's Darren McGavin, while creating his own richly etched characterization. Jamie Farmer is loving and nurturing as Ralphie's mom, sweetly confeying her maternal ways while nicely morphing into the smartest girl in Ralphie's school during scenes away from the Parker house. The onstage chemistry of Boyet and Farmer is refreshingly playful, fun and, most of all, loving and kind of sexy in a not quite even PG sort of way.

As younger brother Ralphie, Andrew Kanies is mischievously impish, capturing the childish glee of the character while remaining completely believable - even while portraying Little Orphan Annie. Eric D. Pasto-Crosby is terrific as Schwartz, giving a vibrantly physical and charming performance, while David Wilkerson plays Flick with a candid openness that is astonishingly free of artifice. And, finally, kudos to Shane Bridges who brings the town bully Scut Farkus to life, creating an onstage persona that perfectly matches our memories of the movie character while obviously giving the role his own inspired take.

Again, Hoff's brilliant set is a masterpiece and it is beautifully lighted by lighting designer Michael Barnett. Trish Clark's period costumes are exquisite reproductions of the era and ideally suited to each character. Sound design, credited to Andrew Bevacqua and director Copeland, lends the appropriate feel to the play, beautifully underscoring the action.

- A Christmas Story. Adapted by Phillip Grecian. Based on the motion picture by Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown and Bob Clark. Directed by Rene Dunshee Copeland. Presented by Tennessee Repertory Theatre at Andrew Johnson Theatre, Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Nashville. Through December 19. For further details, visit the company website at www.tennesseerep.org.

David Wilkerson and Samuel Whited in A Christmas Story