Curtain opens on a young boy. It’s Christmastime. The boy stares longingly into middle distance. The swell of music begins, crescendoing into a melancholic wish, and with an angelic voice the boy wishes out loud for that one thing that will make his life complete –
I want an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!
Yup. A Christmas Story: The Musical may be coming to a stage near you.
Collider.com reports:
(Peter) Billingsley will executive produce A Christmas Story: The Musical!, a stage musical set for a December 9-30 run in Seattle. Billingsley tells THR, “I’m excited to bring this film to the stage because the story and the characters lend themselves so well to the world of musicals… Just think about the idea of a leg-lamp kickline.”
Broadway composers Benj Paske and Justin Paul penned the original score. Billingsley hopes a successful initial run will launch the show to more stages in the future.
And I for one can’t wait to sing along with the politically incorrect Fa-ra-ra-ra-ras of the kitchen staff.
I can almost hear the uproarious crowd pleaser sung by Santa and his elves “You’ll shoot your eye out kid.” I can’t wait for the Jerome Robbins inspired choreography during the infamous Scut Farkus affair.
I. Can’t. Wait.
And don’t scoff all you scoffers. Billingsley has produced Iron Man the movie, directed Couples Retreat, and was nominated for an EMMY for producing the television show “Dinner for Five.”
I’m expecting good things. Anyone up for a road trip to Seattle when it premieres?
December 1, 2010 at 10:19 pm
I'm just not sure how they can improve on the movie. Though the Major Award kick line does give one pause.
December 2, 2010 at 3:25 am
I wonder if they'll have a msical nmber about the tongue on the flagpole! LOL! Juscot
December 2, 2010 at 5:02 am
The world premier of this was in Kansas City last year. I didn't get to see it, but my sister said it was really great!
December 2, 2010 at 3:46 pm
Ol' Shep (silent key, K2ORS was his ham call) would be proud. FWIW, the story was originally published in Playboy (sorry, guys, he did write for the magazine) in the early 60's, and then included in his first book, "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash".
'
Grew up listening to him on WOR, and, in '76, had the privilege of running his console as a summer vacation engineer at the station (that was in the waning days where talent was behind the mic and engineers (who actually had to have FCC licenses) ran the controls…)
The story was read, for the first time, on WOR, on his Christmas Day 1967 show. You can listen to it here:
http://www.archive.org/download/JeanShepherdholidays2/1967_12_25_Red_Ryder.mp3
Flick lives.
December 2, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Every Christmas, my kids and I make a pilgrimage to this "shrine" in Cleveland.
December 2, 2010 at 7:09 pm
I remember the Leg lamp trophy incident and the neighbor's kid whose mouth got washed with soap because he was blamed to be the source of the F word. It's Norman Rockwell's America.
December 3, 2010 at 2:17 am
Yikes, isn't Peter Billingsley old enough to play The Old Man now?
My favorite line is Ralphie's comment that his mother "hadn't eaten a hot meal in 15 years" (because she could never sit down long enough during dinner to do so).
Elaine