Review Roundup: Critics Weigh In on A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE!
by Caryn Robbins
- Dec 18, 2017
A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE! aired last night on FOX. The broadcast was inspired by the holiday classic feature A CHRISTMAS STORY and the Tony Award-nominated Broadway production A CHRISTMAS STORY: THE MUSICAL.. Let's see what the critics had to say!
BWW Review: A CHRISTMAS STORY LIVE! is a Joyous, Imaginative Adaptation, Despite Inherent Problems
by Matt Tamanini
- Dec 18, 2017
For me, there has always been an inherently cynical, bah-humbug spirit that pervades the majority of the A CHRISTMAS STORY film. The 1983 movie, which brought the phrase 'You'll shoot your eye out,' to basic cable for 24-straight hours every Christmas, is ultimately the antithesis of nearly every other Christmas classic. Though the film is beloved as a holiday cult-favorite, at the heart of the story is a young boy living in constant fear of his parents, bullies, missing out on the gift of his dreams, and practically everything else around him. There's also the issue that the boy's sole (increasingly problematic) wish is to get a gun for Christmas. Despite that depressing take on the holidays, the musical version of the story that was broadcast live on FOX on Sunday night was able to keep the film's story and structure, but to infuse it with an imagination and winsomeness that transformed it into a tale of childhood wonder and persistence. Granted it was a mostly inconsequential tale, but the vibrancy of the score and the performances made it an enjoyable, if not all that memorable, viewing experience.
STAGE TUBE: TBS & TNT Get Into the Holiday Spirit with SURPRISE! Instant Xmas Carol
by A.A. Cristi
- Dec 6, 2016
This holiday season, Turner's TBS & TNT are going to turn the Christmas spirit on full blast with SURPRISE! Instant Xmas Carol, an all-new music special that puts a unique twist on the caroling tradition. The one-hour special – featuring such celebrity carolers as Conan O'Brien, Rashida Jones, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O'Neal, Jane Lynch, Ludacris, Kenny G, Tony Sirico, Vincent Curatola, Joseph Gannascoli, A$AP Ferg, Three Loco, Samantha Ronson, Alfonso Ribeiro, Fred Willard, T-Pain and many surprise appearances – is set to premiere on TBS on Wednesday, Dec. 21, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT). And the night before Christmas, Saturday, Dec. 24, at 7 p.m. (ET/PT), TBS & TNT will join forces for a simulcast of SURPRISE! Instant Xmas Carol. It will be followed by TBS & TNT's simulcast of the annual 24 Hours of A CHRISTMAS STORY marathon, celebrating its 20th year as one of television's most enduring holiday traditions.
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