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Opening night of the Kansas City Repertory's A Christmas Story. The Musical! was abuzz with anticipation for the show that, while still in previews, reportedly had "surpassed revenue for the entire run of last year's production of A Christmas Carol." Being a loyal, annual fan of the 1983 movie on which the musical is based, I had been looking forward to the show, going so far as to scream "a Red Ryder BB gun with a compass in the stock!" every time my kids asked me last week what I wanted for Christmas. I guess I find it reassuring to know that there are still new things that can bring out the kid in all of us.

Newness is generally a good thing, and on the topics of success and failure Bill Cosby reportedly once said, "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone." James Russell Lowell contributed that "low aim, not failure, is a crime." So after 29 years performing A Christmas Carol, Eric Rosen, in only his 2^nd full season as the Rep's artistic director, deserves a theatric medal of valor for breaking with three decades of tradition to stage this new musical.

Now, ignoring my objective responsibilities for a moment and reporting on the performance based solely on audience reaction, this was a resounding success with countless "YEAHs!" and "BRAVOs!" and standing ovations. But returning to critical reality, it pains me to report that the production fell short in a number of important areas. Given that there is plenty of solid material to work from in the iconic 1983 movie source, I'm confident that the shortcomings can be addressed successfully with modest re-workings. But 'as is,' I felt that it was far from being Broadway-ready.

But 'low aim' and attempting to 'please everyone' could have kept Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera or Spring Awakening from making it off their storyboards. To that point, a one billionth interpretation of A Christmas Carol was unlikely to shed any new light on the dog-eared classic. My esteem for Mr. Rosen therefore rises only higher - regardless of my feelings for this show. Bravo, Eric, for aiming; bravo for not pleasing everyone. This kind of energetic adventurism is just what the arts community needs.

Unfortunately, the show opened with a proof of the axiom "there is no second chance to make a good first impression." It might have faired better had it been quickly followed by something musically redeeming. But it was not. Through the first five numbers the music was disappointingly bland. To be clear, I am not talking about the performance of that music - the actors pulled it off quite well. Compositionally, however, it left much to be desired.

It wasn't until Take That! - the scene where Ralphie (Zachary Carter Sayle) imagines saving the world from (literally) lions and tigers and bears (and pirates and gangsters) - that any recognizable degree of musical energy emerged. It was a very upbeat number with multiple characters on stage, and as a microcosm it was an entertaining production in itself. A forgettable Secret Decorder Pin Jingle interjected, but was followed by one of the two best songs and performances of the show. A Major Award, sung by John Bolton (Ralphie's father, "The Old Man"), was a whimsical number with a catchy tune and an excellent delivery by Bolton (who, as the play continued to progress, grew on me more and more). I' 'Uck! followed with Aaron Dwight Conley singing the lyrics ('I'm Stuck') with his tongue staying in touch with the flag pole prop. It was a remarkable feat that he was able to deliver the song with legible diction. Act One closed with Oops, I Forgot and Oh, Fudge!  For me, 'Fudge' lost some of its impact with its treatment by the entire ensemble. I think a more subdued staging would have had a better effect to bring the Act to a less bombastic close before intermission.

Act Two was the fortunate recipient of what little momentum carried through from Act One, but the music (again, compositionally) didn't fare much better. After the Entracte and two reprises, four more mediocre songs followed before arriving at Calm Down, which was the gem of the evening. Here, Ralphie's "Mother" (Anne L. Nathan) sings to him after a scene where Ralphie loses it and beats the stuffing out of "Scut Farkus" (Troy Doherty). It is a gentle, lullaby-like serenade with a strongly composed melody and a touching delivery by Nathan. It was reassuring to hear the level of compositional quality of which Richards was capable, and this made me optimistic that some reworking and rewriting will result in a much more solid, Broadway-ready production. Space makes it difficult to discuss the rest of Act Two in any significant detail, and, frankly, the return to mediocre compositions in the final six numbers makes it unnecessary.

I liked that the musical preserved the storytelling structure of the movie. Narrated by the solid 'radio show' pipes of James Judy, at the opening curtain "Jean Shepherd" (Judy) is reflecting back, from a 1966 radio show booth, on the infamously frigid winter of 1939 and the escapades of one Ralphie Parker. Jean Parker Shepherd, in reality, was the co-author of the original movie, which was, in turn, based on his book In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash. It is Shepherd's voice that narrated the 1983 movie.

 John Bolton's portrayal of Ralphie's Father ("The Old Man") is a masterful creation, thanks in part to his Buster Keaton-like command of facial expressions. He nails the pervasively pessimistic, daily-grind melancholia of the character while also allowing a glimpse beneath the surface at a guy who is really a sentimental softie when it comes to his family. His daily battles with the furnace and the neighbors' dogs are well-preserved and funny. Anne L. Nathan, as Ralphie's "Mother," portrays a confident yet dutiful 1930s housewife and she shines, in particular (as mentioned previously), in her delivery of Calm Down.

I sensed that the role of Ralphie could have been better cast, but Zachary Carter Sayle nevertheless delivered a believable performance, and in the scenes where he is wearing his winter hat, he was a dead ringer for Peter Billingsley's Ralphie from the original movie. Personally, I thought that Jake Bennett Siegfried quietly stole the spotlight as Ralphie's brother, "Randy." Rounding out the children's kudos, Alexiya Lourdes Mendez was a real stunner as "Mary Beth." Other whimsical stage ploys added visual and comic fodder, including the bevy of miscreants and woodland creatures in Take That! and the on-stage dog-barking talents of ensemble members. Lighting and set design were creative and visually engaging, although the latter was occasionally a bit overwhelming (in the aforementioned "Oh Fudge," for example).

A Christmas Story may not be perfection at this point, but didn't shoot its own eye out, either. It likely has already 'succeeded' at the box office, given its preview ticket sales, but beyond that I am certain that a little 'back to the drawing board' review will be a necessity to take it to Broadway.

REVIEW:
Kansas City Repertory Theatre
A Christmas Story - The Musical!
Directed by Eric Rosen
Runs November 28 - January 3, 2010 (Reviewed Saturday, November 28, 2009)
UMKC's Spencer Theatre
3939 Cherry Street
Kansas City, MO  64110
For tickets call 816-235-2700 or online at www.kcrep.org

Cover photo: 
Katie Kalahurka (Elf), Orville Mendoza (Elf), Patrick DuLaney (Santa), Zachary Carter Sayle (Ralphie). Photo by Don Ipock.

By Christopher Guerin

Traditional and New Classical music, and Theatre Contributor (Past writer)
Christopher Guerin holds degrees in Music Education, Music Business, and Music Theory & Composition, the latter from the University of Massachusetts (Lowell) College of Music where he co-founded the college's Composers' Guild, and, in 1985, won the Artin Arslanian Composition Award. During college, he also obtained some musical theatre experience as a member of pit orchestras for Threepenny Opera and My Fair Lady. Since 1989, Christopher has been in the very non-artistic corporate sector, where his creative energies have been put to more mundane endeavors 

Christopher credits his musical motivations to his late father, who was concertmaster of the Springfield (MA) Community (pre-cursor to the city's current Symphony) Orchestra and performed popular music on radio in the 1930s. Christopher began his classical training in 1972 at age 10, began teaching at 16 (continuing to take private students throughout college), and traveled extensively with a youth orchestra - including to New Zealand in 1980. After college, and until 1989, Christopher focused on the business end of music as a successful sales manager for one of New England's largest music chains.

Over the past 20 years, Christopher's expertise has focused on medicine as a life risk underwriting officer for a large Midwest insurance group. His past duties included responsibility for risk underwriting in Pacific Rim markets where he traveled extensively to Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand and Burma. Time permitting, he has continued to compose intermittently throughout this period. Christopher is married to Paula, a fellow musician he met during college, and together they have "composed" their magnum opera in three very creative children - an architecture student (go K-State!), an aspiring classical pianist, and a budding writer/journalist. He and his wife relocated from Massachusetts to the Kansas City area in 1997.