The show features the same story of the 1983 film, but with music not in the original movie.
A tongue freezing to a flagpole, Christmas dinner at a Chinese restaurant, a lamp in the shape of woman’s leg, and of course, the iconic Red Ryder BB Gun.
Fans of the 1983 comedy film “A Christmas Story” will be intimately familiar with these pieces of holiday pop culture.
Yet now fans of young Ralphie Parker and his quest to obtain that Red Ryder BB Gun above all else for Christmas will have a chance to see his holiday adventures play out live and on stage with Cherokee High School’s fall production of “A Christmas Story The Musical.”
Set to debut on Nov. 23 at 7 p.m., the show will bring to life many of the film’s classic holiday vignettes, which have brought about warm, nostalgic feelings of childhood for viewers for nearly four decades.
In addition, the show will also present audiences with songs not heard in the film, which those at Cherokee say are all the reason for fans of the film to grab at ticket.
“The music has this old, western feel to it, because a lot of it is about Ralphie’s fantasy as this cowboy with the RedRyder BB Gun,” show director Joe Fisicaro Jr. said. “You have a couple of numbers where you’re almost going to feel this John Wayne type of whistle to it. It just drives you.”
Mia Gambino, set to play the show’s leading role of Ralphie Parker, agreed.
“It still has the same storyline of the movie, which is very classic and everybody loves, but it adds the element of fantasy by adding songs within those classic moments … it makes it more entertaining,” Gambino said.
Aren Duffy, set to narrate Ralphie’s story, also pointed to the show’s music as a selling point.
“It provides the perfect balances of all of the elements that the audiences will want to see coming from the movie,” Duffy said. “With the music, you can get inside Ralphie’s head a bit more.”
Students in the show are also touting the camaraderie between Cherokee’s performers as yet another element adding to the overall quality of the show.
“Over time, our hard work has really gone into this show, and when the final product comes out, you can really see the community that has developed around the show, said Morgan Strohl, who is one of the actresses set to play Ralphie’s mother in the double-cast show.
Sophia Fortuna, the other actress at Cherokee set to play Ralphie’s mother, also spoke to the bond between the show’s performers.
“We’re all so committed, and so passionate about theater and sharing this artform with everyone, and I feel like you can definitely see that when we perform,” Fortuna said. “I feel like that is going to be really enjoyable.”
Cherokee High School’s production of “A Christmas Story The Musical” debuts on Nov. 23 at 7 p.m., with repeat performances on Nov. 24, Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12, with Golden Age Passes to be honored at the Nov. 24 show.
Tickets are available in advance online through links available at www.cherokeedrama.org.
