Few modern novels have been so lovingly ensconced in the pop culture landscape, yet remain so widely unknown, as Jean Shepherd’s “In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash.”
Not ringing a bell?
How about “A Christmas Story”?
Red Ryder BB Gun? Major award? Fragile — that’s frah-gee-lay (it’s Italian)? Yeah, THAT “A Christmas Story.”
The iconic and infinitely quotable holiday film, which to this day can be seen round-the-clock on TV every Christmas, was based on four sections of the best-selling 1966 novel by Shepherd, a prolific humorist who adapted the tales from some of his most popular radio productions (he also narrated and co-scripted the film).
His uniquely nostalgic yet acerbic and sardonic style of semi-autobiographical stories have enthralled a large portion of America, first as radio dramas, then through at least five books and one fantastic (and one underwhelming) movie, as well as a Tony Award-nominated stage musical adaptation, which is set for a revival at Bainbridge Performing Arts next month under the direction of Joanna Hardie.
Set in the 1940s in the fictional town of Hohman, Indiana, the musical follows 9-year-old Ralphie Parker and his quest for the Holy Grail of Christmas gifts: an official Red Ryder, carbine-action, 200-shot Range Model air rifle.
Rebuffed at every turn with a similarly eerie echoing response (“You’ll shoot your eye out!”), Ralphie plots numerous schemes to quench his desperate desire for the coveted gun. All the iconic scenes from the movie are included: Ralphie’s friend, Flick, getting his tongue stuck to the flagpole; his brother, Randy, getting dressed in his very, very warm snowsuit; the attack of the bullies, Farkus and Dill; the leg lamp award; the bunny suit; the Chinese restaurant; a raucous Christmas dinner; and many more.
The versatile score ranges from gentle ballads to show-stopping full-ensemble numbers such as “Ralphie to the Rescue!”, “A Major Award,” “Sticky Situation,” “Up on Santa’s Lap,” “Somewhere Hovering Over Indiana,” and the inevitable, “You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out!”
Hardie said it was the talented cast in the BPA show that made it possible to honor the treasured source material and still innovate the story.
“I think it’s been about finding our own takes on these characters and on the moments,” she said. “We want to find those iconic moments and touch on them, but then step back from that and find the way to tell the story on the stage, which is different than with editing and all that kind of stuff.”
BPA’s production showcases a predominantly local cast, including several family members who are spending the holidays performing together, with Quinn Leibling (starring as Ralphie), plus Lisa Mandelkorn, Matt Eldridge, Callum Blackwell, Elizabeth Dangelo, Nelsen Spickard, Libby Clements, Carter Wolff, Emily Fox, Trey Field-Bennett, Sophie Eldridge, Olivia Opalski, Hailey McCulloch, Addie Beermann, Gracie Cate Moffett, Max VanNocken-Witmer, Ron Mackley, Corrie Yadon, Lucien Caro, D’Arcy Clements, Jen Carrillo, Ben Eldridge, Delaney Taylor, Katie Irvin, Teagan Howlett, Cordelia Janow, Jeremy Juarez, Cathy McIsaac and Alex Ung.
“We have some really awesome personalities, some personalities that are really different from the movie but still are very wonderful for the roles,” Hardie said.
“Quinn is just fantastic. He is such a great Ralphie. And then we have his little brother, and Callum is just playing himself, basically, and is just so adorable that you just stay out of their way and let them bring that natural energy to the stage and then kind of funnel it to where it needs to go to bring out more theatrical moments.”
A cast of so many children might be daunting to some directors, but Hardie enjoys working with young talent.
“It’s really fun and it’s really easy working with kids who are really motivated,” she said. “Because they have such natural presence on stage.”
For those fans who only know the movie, Hardie said the musical will hit all the right notes and then some.
“It follows the story fairly closely,” she said. “There are a couple of little fantasy vignettes that were left out of the show, but basically at any time there’s a fantasy inside Ralphie’s head — or even the Old Man — they took it one step further and put in a musical number.
“They’re really fun, they’re really narrative,” she said of the songs. “Each one has its own style that comes from this very innocent place; the interests of a young boy.”
“A Christmas Story: The Musical” will appear at BPA Friday, Dec. 2 through Sunday, Dec. 18, with evening shows Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. (except that there will be no evening performance on Dec. 3), plus matinées at 2 p.m. on Saturdays and 3 p.m. on Sundays.
The run includes a pay-what-you-can preview at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 1 and the opening night reception is 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2.
Tickets, $29 for adults, $24 for seniors and $21 for students, youth, military and teachers, may be purchased online at www.bainbridge performingarts.org, by phone at 206-842-8569, or in person at BPA (200 Madison Ave. North).
Box office hours are 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and one hour prior to each performance.
