COVER STORY
BY JAY BOBBIN
Fox stages musical
‘A Christmas Story’ live
Ralphie sings! However, we make no guarantees about the leg
lamp.
The 1983 movie version of “A Christmas Story” will
have its traditional Christmas Eve and Day marathon on
TBS again, but Fox also gets into the triple-dog-dare
game this year by airing the stage-musical edition as
“A Christmas Story Live!” Sunday, Dec. 17. Familiar
faces including Matthew Broderick, Maya Rudolph
and Ana Gasteyer will join young newcomer Andy
Walken, the winner of a national search to fill the
role of Ralphie — who desperately wants to find
a Red Ryder BB gun under his family’s holiday
tree.
“You’ll never feel for one moment that
you’re in a theater watching a musical,”
promises executive producer Marc Platt
(“Grease Live!,” “La La Land”). “You
will be living the life of Ralphie. You’ll
be experiencing his fantasies. You’ll be
living the life of this community, this
town. There’s lights. There’s snow. If you
know the movie, there are dogs which
appear. It’s live TV, (so) there will be live
animals all over the place. You can’t ask for
more: tap-dancing kids, live dogs, snow and
Christmas, all in one night.”
The music for “A Christmas Story
Live!” falls to Benj Pasek and Justin
Paul, who have created several new
songs beyond the ones featured in
the stage show that has had national
tours and a Broadway run. The
composers are wrapping up quite
a year, having won Oscars for “La
La Land” and Tony Awards for
“Dear Evan Hansen.”
“Something that’s so amazing
about ‘A Christmas Sto-
ry,’” Pasek reflects, “is that
audiences have such an
expectation coming in to
see the show. They know
the movie back-and-forth.
They know every scene
that they’re excited to
come in and see, and how
we’re going to be able to
imagine it on stage … and,
here, how we’re going to be
able to imagine it in a live
TV event.”
‘A Christmas
Story’ behind
the story
Jack Nicholson was almost cast to play Ralphie’s dad in the original 1983 movie but the role instead went to Darren
McGavin due to Nicholson’s salary command and the movie’s lack of budget. Tune in to the annual marathon to
get your fix of “You’ll shoot your eye out!” We “double-DOG- dare ya!”
Watch on TNT & TBS Dec. 24 8p; 10p; Dec. 25 12a; 2a; 4a; 6a; 8a; 10a; 12p; 2p; 4p; 6p
pg 2 GRACENOTE - 2017 HOLIDAY PREVIEW