The story from a cherished movie classic that's enchanted millions is now a musical spectacular. In 1940's Indiana, a bespectacled boy named Ralphie has a big imagination and one wish for Christmas-a Red Ryder BB Gun. A kooky leg lamp, outrageous pink bunny pajamas, a cranky department store Santa, and a triple-dog-dare to lick a freezing flagpole are just a few of the obstacles that stand between Ralphie and his Christmas dream.
We've all seen the scene in 'A Christmas Story' when the kid gets his tongue stuck on a frozen flagpole. Now on Broadway is that very same scene – plus the kid actually singing through it, or at least trying to sing. 'Sthlun luv a...,' he mumbles at the end. It's just one great touch in a musical that dares to mess with one of the most popular Christmas-time movies of all time and yet manages to not only do the film justice, but top it. The show...is a charming triumph of imagination that director John Rando has infused with utter joy. It's also a snappy piece of mature songwriting from a pair of guys barely as old as the original 1983 film...Purists may be upset to miss some film elements – such as Ralphie's decoder ring – but few will walk away thinking 'A Christmas Story' has been dishonored, itself a little Christmas miracle.
This is called 'A Christmas Story,' not 'The Christmas Story,' so, parents, please take note. The musical based on the popular 1983 movie is neither candy-cane sweet nor sacred. In fact, not much is sacred in this droll, imaginative, definitely and a bit defiantly off-center tale of a 9-year-old bespectacled kid named Ralphie and a flawed but loving family in Indiana in the 1940s. That is, 9-year-olds (and up) and their flawed, loving parents are probably the target audience for the newest addition to the holiday offerings, wickedly directed by John Rando ('Urinetown') with a clever and enjoyable score by newcomers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul ('Dogfight'). The humor is not so much politically incorrect as, well, politically retro and a little dark...I could live without the awful joke about Chinese accents, the blue joke about the bowling ball, the playground line 'when you act like a fruit, you get crushed like a grape.' Even if kids liked to talk like that, Broadway should not endorse it.
| 2011 | US Tour |
National Tour US Tour |
| 2012 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| 2013 | Off-Broadway |
Madison Square Garden Production Off-Broadway |
| 2017 | Motion Picture |
FOX Live Televised Production Motion Picture |
| 2021 | US Tour |
Non Equity Tour US Tour |
| 2025 | US Tour |
Non-Equity US Tour |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Book of a Musical | Joseph Robinette |
| 2013 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Warren Carlyle |
| 2013 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | John Bolton |
| 2013 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | John Bolton |
| 2013 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Music | Justin Paul |
| 2013 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Music | Benj Pasek |
| 2013 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations | Larry Blank |
| 2013 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Dan Lauria |
| 2013 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Musical | 0 |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Gerald Goehring |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Roy Miller |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Michael F. Mitri |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Pat Flicker Addiss |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Peter Billingsley |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Timothy Laczynski |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Mariano V. Tolentino Jr. |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Louise H. Beard |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Michael Filerman |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Scott Hart |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Alison Eckert |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Bob Bartner |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Michael Jenkins |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Angela Milonas |
| 2013 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Bradford W. Smith |
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