NOSTALGIC, SAPPY FUN
If you’re in the mood for a night of campy humor with a Christmas-y theme, head to Bus Barn Theatre in Los Altos for its production of A Christmas Story: The Musical. This old chestnut of a story is based on the motion picture of the same name that came out in 1983 based on Jean Shepherd’s 1966 book In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash. Los Altos Stage Company’s production is saved by some terrific performances, fine costumes and a socko tap dance by Soozee Shireman.
Chris Mahle as The Old Man
Though the story is hackneyed, cherubic Jacob Steinberger‘s Ralphie Parker and Mandy Carmack’s weary but caring Mother help to keep us involved. Chris Mahle as The Old Man at times overplays the tired, rundown father who feels he gets browbeaten at work, harassed by an overly aggressive neighborhood dog, and called on to constantly repair his rattletrap of a car and things around the house.
The fourth member of the Parker family is Ralphie’s younger brother, Randy (Henry Champlin, a genuine scene-stealer if there ever was one), who spends a lot of time under the kitchen table, pulling a big red tablecloth with him as he crawls under. He doesn’t want to eat dinner, but Ralphie can usually convince him that it’ll make Mother happy if he at least eats a mouthful or two. The other standout in the cast is Soozee Shireman who, as Ralphie’s teacher at Warren G. Harding Elementary School, is demanding as she assigns students a paper to write that must be “legible, spelled correctly and, above all: Written within the paper’s margins!”
Soozee Shireman as Ralphie’s teacher Miss ShieldsIn Act II, Shireman offers up a sizzling tap dance in “You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out” backed up by her students. It’s not the only fine musical number: most of which (“It All Comes Down to Christmas”; “Sticky Situation”) are performed by the entire company. Carmack’s lovely voice is highlighted in one of the most affecting songs, “What a Mother Does.” Steinberger shines in “An Opening,” “Ralphie to the Rescue” and “Christmas Morning.”
Director Kristin Walter does her best to move this lumbering tale along, as does music director David Herberg and his small group of musicians. Costume designer Greet Jaspaert does an amazing job finding era-appropriate clothes for the 19-member cast.
Jacob Steinberger as Ralphie
Despite the fact that many things go wrong on Christmas – including that nasty dog absconding with the family’s turkey – in the end, the Parker family comes to realize that the best gift they could ever receive is the family love they share. That’s what makes A Christmas Story: The Musical a fine, if somewhat dated, play to see at Christmastime.
photos by Evelyn Huynh
A Christmas Story: The Musical
Los Altos Stage Company
Bus Barn Theater, 97 Hillview Ave. in Los Altos
Wed-Sat at 8; Sun at 3; Sat at 3 (Dec. 14 & 23)
ends on December 22, 2024
for tickets, call 650.941.0551 or visit Los Altos Stage Co.
Joanne Engelhardt is a former San Jose Mercury and Santa Cruz Sentinel writer and theatre critic and is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. Contact: [email protected]
