Back in 2011 in Chicago’s Loop, I reviewed the world premiere of a new musical based on the quirky holiday movie known as “A Christmas Story,” the story of which revolves around an ordinary, working-class kid from Northwest Indiana dreaming of getting a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. I was knocked out by the heart of the show, which was directed by Warren Carlyle and starred Rachel Bay Jones, and I called no less than Benj Pasek and Justin Paul “a promising songwriting team.”
(Promising was to say the least. Pasek and Paul, still then mostly unknown, went on to score “The Greatest Showman,” “Dear Evan Hansen” and “La La Land.”)
Every time I’ve seen “A Christmas Story” since, I’ve been similarly charmed. Until this weekend at the Marriott Theatre, where the new seasonal production from the usually reliable director Scott Weinstein mostly disappoints.
Why? The main problem, I think, is that the show is not staged in a way that highlights its young star, Ralphie (played at the show I saw by Kavon Newman). The musical uses the device of bringing the old-time radio broadcasts of Jean Shepherd to life and the Shepherd character wanders through the storytelling. (Shepherd narrated and co-scripted the 1983 “Chrismas Story” movie based on his own semi-autobiographical stories.) What’s needed from the actor Kevin McKillip is a light and laconic touch, as an adult looking back from the future and missing his childhood. Instead, the older character seems so dominant, so emotionally invested in what’s going on in real time, that little space is left for the actual kid living the famously chaotic Christmas with the tongue and the frozen flagpole and all of that. McKillip is a very decent actor, but this approach just doesn’t work. Very little of the potential humor in the piece functions as intended.
Other things feel weirdly off here, too. There is no chute for Santa to send the kids down, which is a bit like staging “A Christmas Carol” without a turkey. The famous closing scene at the Chinese restaurant has the family totally alone with not a single staffer in sight, as if the Peking duck cooked itself. And, for the most part, the choreography from Tiffany Krause is a tad too complex for kids to execute with confidence.
There are some talented folks in the cast: Lorenzo Rush Jr., brings his usual panache and vocal excellence to Ralphie’s Old Man and Sara Reinecke is honest and moving as Mother (she has all the best songs in the show and she executes them well). But Reinecke, a stand in for all the mothers in the audience, is never given enough focus in the staging.
And at no moment do you feel truly transported to Northwest Indiana of the 1940s, not least because the fractured set does not aid the cohesion of the emotional landscape of the show. At intermission, the screens used to evoke location are purloined to advertise Marriott’s upcoming season, which doesn’t help with the illusion of a sepia-toned memory. The scenic transitions are awkward. And although the trajectory of “A Christmas Story” mostly is emotional, the piece simply cannot function if young Ralphie is not at its heart.
For all of the talent on this stage, this rote seasonal show still somehow lack stakes, emotional intensity and, frankly, sufficient confidence in its own storytelling. Marriott’s history of musical excellence demands better.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
Review: “A Christmas Story” (2 stars)
When: Through Jan. 1
Where: Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire
Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes
Tickets: $59-$64 at 847-634-0200 or www.marriotttheatre.com
