A musical twist on a familiar Christmas classic

The famous leg lamp never looked or sounded so good. What’s that you say, leg lamps don’t talk or sing? Well on Saturday they sure did at the Lied Center, putting a new spin on an old holiday classic that made me smile from start to finish.
Paula and I always look forward to our season tickets at the Lied, not always knowing what to expect on stage but usually enjoying the experience. Saturday’s performance turned out to be an unexpected holiday treat, though true to the nature of this particular story it likely earned as many emphatic thumbs-up as thumbs-down from a crowd spanning several generations.
The tale of Ralphie Parker’s relentless quest for a Red Ryder BB gun has become a Christmas staple, thanks largely to its around-the-clock marathon on Christmas Day. Over the years, I’ve noticed that friends, family members and even coworkers tend to fall firmly into one of two camps: they’re either all in with Ralphie and company, or they dismiss A Christmas Story as a holiday flop that simply refuses to go away. People either love it or hate it.
I can’t say that I was a huge fan as a kid, but somewhere along the line, A Christmas Story started to make me laugh because of its quaint authenticity. It’s not filled with sugar and spice and everything nice, as some feel-good Christmas stories tend to be. Instead, it reminds us that Christmas can be messy, parents bicker, kids get bullied and gift giving doesn’t always go as planned.
What wasn’t disappointing Saturday was seeing and hearing that familiar tale put to music. If you know the storyline, the songs need little explanation: “Red Ryder Carbine Action BB Gun” describes Ralphie’s dream gift; “When You’re a Wimp” revisits playground bullying; “Sticky Situation” recreates the infamous flagpole scene; and “You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out” needs no introduction at all.
Then there were the leg lamps. Old Man Parker was busting his buttons after winning a radio contest prize delivered in a crate marked “FRAGILE,” famously pronounced “fra-GEE-lay.” The audience knew the line was coming and laughed right on cue. What followed was pure musical theater magic: the leg lamp came to life, multiplied, and filled the stage in an over-the-top choral tribute to the Old Man’s perceived genius.  The choreography was terrific, heavy on the sarcasm with a black and gold musical twist that wasn’t possible in the original film.
That’s the magic of musical theater, bringing a different perspective to lines of well-known text. What remained familiar was the reaction to a Christmas classic that felt honest, funny and recognizable to anyone who’s ever been a kid waiting for that one perfect gift.
That’s a story, leg lamps and all, that never gets old.
KURT JOHNSON can be reached at kjohnson@ hamilton.net