Ralphie and the Desperados take aim in "A Christmas Story"
Holiday warmth abounds in Whitefish Theatre Company’s production of “A Christmas Story,” continuing this week and next at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays, through Dec. 18.
Based on the famous 1983 motion picture, “A Christmas Story” is the perfect feel-good holiday show for the whole family to enjoy. In 1940s Indiana, a bespectacled boy named Ralphie Parker has a big imagination and one wish for Christmas – a Red Ryder Carbine-Action 200-shot Range Model Air Rifle.
Ralphie pleads his case before his mother, his teacher, and even Santa Claus himself, only to hear the consistent response: “You’ll shoot your eye out!” All of the elements from the classic movie are here, including the family’s exploding furnace, a kooky leg lamp, outrageous pink bunny pajamas, a school bully, and a triple-dog-dare to lick a freezing flagpole.
The New York Daily News says the witty and warm wonder of “A Christmas Story” has a “sweet message that hits all the right notes of nostalgia.”
That sense of nostalgia is what drew guest director Rebecca Schaffer to be a part of the show. “’A Christmas Story’ is one of those traditions that gets passed down from generation to generation,” says Schaffer. “As a kid, I remember the excitement from my father every year when it was time for us to watch the movie together. Now, the story has been translated into a play, and I am so excited to get to share my vision of it with my father this year.”
As part of the 22-person cast, Ralphie is played by Henry Spradlin and adult Ralph is played by Scott Plotkin; Father is played by Greg Postell, Mother by Scarlett Schindler, Randy by Badge Busse, Miss Shields by Alice Biel, Esther Jane by Taylor Gray, Helen by Abbey Biel, Scut Farkus by Camren Ross, Flick by Liam Lohr, and Schwartz by Kai Nash. Also contributing to the design of “A Christmas Story” are Lonnie Porro, costume designer; Robert Moody, technical director/production manager; and Kellie Hoffman, stage manager.
Tickets are $10-$18 and available at the Box Office, 1 Central Ave., Whitefish, by calling 406-862-5371 or online at www.whitefishtheatreco.org.