A Christmas Story @ The Cleveland Play House 12/19/09

The tightly wound script of A Christmas Story is like a mantra for Clevelanders. With it's not-so-subtle repetition of touchstone phrases, the text is a prayer for everything that goes right, and everything that goes wrong around this time of the year around here.

Thanks to writer and radio personality Jean Shepherd, whose screenplay was based on Christmas short stories he wrote for Playboy in the late 1960's, rejoinders like, "You'll shoot your eye out!," "Oh, Fudge!," "You've won a Major Award!," "Triple Dog Dare!" and even "Daddy's Gonna Kill Ralphie," (adopted as the name of a local band), have entered the American lexicon forever, bringing joy to Cleveland. That Shepherd grew up in Indiana and not Cleveland is quite hard to believe, since the house where the acclaimed film was shot resides in Tremont, and many key scenes revolve around the now-defunct Higbees department store in Downtown Cleveland, although much of the film was actually shot in Canada. And thanks to Ted Turner, the lo-budget 1983 film was re-run constantly on his WTBS, TNT and TCM networks; it is estimated that over 1/6 of the population saw the film in just 2002 alone.

When you're recreating a cinema classic live on stage, casting is all-important, and the final year of A Christmas Story's run brings back many cast members reprising their roles.

Holding the entire play together is Christopher Burns as the narrator, voicing Jean Shepherd's brilliant, cynical and insightful text, a role for which he probably doesn't get the credit he deserves, what with Charles Kartali's spot-on portrayal of film star Darren McGaven's key role of The Old Man, and Elizabeth Ann Townsend's note-perfect Mother. Joey Stefanko as Ralphie is joined by a terrifying Daniel Sovich as Scut Farkas, and Christian Flaherty as Flick, whose tongue will never be the same.

As it turns out, A Christmas Story is actually Cleveland's origin myth, run through the pop culture wringer and come out the other side the better for it. That Jean Shepherd really knew his Cleveland.

Finally, as they contemplate their move down to Playhouse Square, let's hope that the Cleveland Play House doesn't discontinue their interesting Festival of Trees exhibited in the lobby and hallways of their now-defunct landmark theatre complex.

The Cleveland Play House season continues 1/8/10 with Neil Simon's Lost In Yonkers, and Ain't Misbehavin on 1/29. For grades 4-10, we recommend Huck Finn, by Clevelander Eric Coble, adapted from the Twain, premiering 1/8/10. http://www.ClevelandPlayHouse.com

Review and photo by Thomas Mulready, the creator of CoolCleveland.com.