A Christmas Story

We went out on a cold and rainy night to see this year’s Christmas production at the Rep. The holiday movie, “A Christmas Story” is a perennial classic that can be found every year on 24 hour TBS rotation. Like many a Broadway show these days, it has also been recast as a musical. The Rep’s production is similar to all these other vehicles, feeding off of the same source material, but is also different. 

Just not very much. While, not as redundant as yet another production of “A Christmas Carol” would be, this retelling lacked any spontaneity. Everyone was all too familiar with this story. The half-full house sat mostly silent throughout the first act, before warming slightly like leftovers in the second. Symbolic of this rehashed holiday offering is Ralphie’s too often repeated line, describing his long sought gift, “A Red Ryder BB gun with a compass in the stock, and this thing which tells time.” The thingy was a sundial, which was funny once, but not so much after the umpteenth recitation. 

I understand that the annual Christmas pageant, with its accompanying revenue stream is a foundation for any company’s balance sheet. We’ve been season ticket holders long enough to know that next year’s inevitably edgier first show will draw only a fraction of this production’s house, but picking such a “safe” choice seems to have backfired this year. The Rep seems to have gotten more conservative over the years. Its ill-fated Off-Ramp series seems like the last time that it has boldly struck out. To bad the Great Recession killed that spirit. I’m not suggesting a return of “M. Butterfly,” but a little more adventurousness would be welcomed. Here is a suggestion. Next Christmas please bring back “Inspecting Carol.” I would enjoy seeing again this wickedly funny Dickens’ satire and unlike the current offering, I promise that I’ve only seen it once.