A Christmas Story brings holiday cheer to Toby’s Dinner & Show Theatre

Jeri Tidwell Photography

The film A Christmas Story was a cult hit upon its release just before Thanksgiving 1983 but was only playing in a handful of theaters by the time Christmas arrived. The advent of home video brought the film more attention, but airings on television on HBO, Fox and the Turner networks grew the film’s popularity to the point that TNT began a 24-hour Christmas Eve marathon in 1997, moving to sister network TBS in 2004. Now the film is a bona fide holiday classic so the next step, of course, was to turn the movie into a stage musical which had a limited Broadway run in November and December of 2012. Since 2014, the show has mounted an annual national tour and the Fox network aired a live version of the show in 2017. And now A Christmas Story – The Musical is making its debut at Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia, MD.

If you don’t know the story, it’s based on the work of Jean Shepherd from his semi-autobiographical book In God We Trust … All Others Pay Cash. The story, set in 1940, focuses on the Parker family headed by The Old Man (the father is never given a first name), the Mother (likewise, no name is given) and their two sons, Ralphie and Randy, and mostly about Ralphie. Christmas is approaching and Ralphie wants one thing for Christmas: a Red Ryder BB Gun. But when Mother asks what he wants and he tells her, she gives him the most dreaded reply he could have expected: ‘You’ll shoot your eye out!’ It becomes Ralphie’s mission to suggest as subtly as he can that getting him that BB gun would be the best Christmas present a boy could have. Of course he faces many challenges in those 24 days leading up to the Big Day, including a poor grade on a school essay, neighborhood bullies, and an unfortunate use of the word ‘Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuudge’ … but ‘fudge’ is not the word he actually said (no worries though, that is the word he says … this is a family friendly show!), so between the slip of the tongue and the fight with the bully, Ralphie is sure he’ll never get the gift he so desires. But The Old Man, from whom Ralphie picked up his colorful language (humorously delivered as nonsense words during the show), does get something he’s always desired — a ‘major award’ from one of his contests. Yes, the infamous Leg Lamp. But a series of unfortunate events put Christmas in jeopardy for the family. Can a Christmas miracle save the day? It’s a holiday musical, what do you think?!

Toby’s Dinner Theatre has gone all out to make this one of the most enjoyable holiday shows ever. Technically, it’s perfection with some of the most creative production and lighting design by David A. Hopkins seen yet at Toby’s like the eaves of the house that descend from the ceiling when the family is at home, and the massive platform and sliding board for Ralphie’s visit to Santa at the department store. Lighting, including strobes used for some of Ralphie’s cowboy movie fantasy sequences and the slo-mo Santa scene, is perfection. The sound design by Mark Smedley is also on point, one of the best sounding shows I’ve seen at Toby’s second only to Mamma Mia!. Costumes by A.T. Jones are also wonderful from the appropriate middle class outfits of the Parkers to the more flashy outfits worn in the fantasy sequences. The Old Man and the Leg Lamp get their own number and costumes include red sequined jackets for the men and gold dresses for the women that resemble the Leg Lamp shade, complete with lights that illuminate their fishnet-clad legs. There is nothing to complain about with any of the technical parts of the show.

Jeri Tidwell Photography

On stage, director Shawn Kettering has assembled not one but two casts of child actors to carry the show. Depending on the night you attend, you’ll see either the Hebee or the Jebee group. We were treated to the Jebee group which includes John Poncy making his professional debut as Ralphie, Patrick Ford in his TOby’s debut as Randy, Jezrael Agbor as Flick, James LaManna as Schwarz and Jaxon Keller as Scut Farkus, Ralphie’s nemesis. Poncy is terrific as Ralphie. He’s got a great voice and he puts all of his emotions and energy out there on the Toby’s stage. If you know the movie, Peter Billingsley made an indelible impression as Ralphie, but Poncy is able to take the role and make it his own. Ford doesn’t have as much to do as Randy, but he does have his moments to shine, especially in the infamous snow suit scene. Keller is also great as Farkus, making the boy a truly fearsome bully but during one of Ralphie’s fantasy scenes Keller also gets to indulge in a showstopping tap dance solo that earns all the applause he deserves. And all of the other kids, including Erin Cobbler, Carly Greaver, Jonathan Mackrell, Sophia Manicone and Katharine Ford are also terrific with great voices and some amazing dancing skills for such young performers, keeping pace with adults without missing a step, including some very skilled tap dancing.

The main adult cast, made up of Toby’s veterans, is also in fine form. Heather Beck and Jeffrey Shankle are perfectly matched as Mother and The Old Man. Beck is the mother everyone wants, kind, understanding and full of love for her family no matter what life throws at them. And what a voice! Shankle gets to be the more bombastic of the two with his humorous ‘cursing’ and his over-reaction to his ‘major award’ but deep down you know he also has nothing but love for his family. And he is also in fine voice. It’s fun to see this pair who tackled such dramatic moments in Mamma Mia! get to be a bit more light-hearted in A Christmas Story.

David Bosley-Reynolds plays the narrator of the show in the form of Jean Shepherd ‘reading’ his story to a radio audience, but always appearing on stage, sometimes in the middle of a scene, as an unseen presence by the characters. He does have a great voice that you can imagine hearing on the radio back in the day when they did live shows, but there were times during the show that some of his dramatic pauses almost felt as if he’d lost his place. Maybe that was a directorial choice, or Bosley-Reynolds had to add the pauses to slow his pace to match the action on stage but it felt a little off at times. Jessica Bennett, last seen at Toby’s brekaing hearts as Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, plays Ralphie’s teacher Miss Shields and she manages to steal every scene she’s in, particularly as she taps away with Keller before his solo. It’s a smaller role but she makes the most of it.

Jeri Tidwell Photography

Speaking of those tap numbers, choreographers Tina Marie DeSimone and Mark Minnick have delivered some of the best choreography I’ve seen at Toby’s. From Shankle dancing around the living room of the house to the tap numbers to the kick line with the cast and Leg Lamps, the pair have really outdone themselves with their creativity and the cast delivers every step to perfection. And Shawn Kettering’s direction is also terrific. I always have to point out for those unfamiliar with Toby’s that this is a theatre in the round so set pieces and actors have to be positioned in a way that everyone can see the action. And that’s no small feat, particularly with the larger sets and furniture. While set placement has to be carefully positioned, the actors do have the freedom to perform in a way that allows all side of the room to see them. It’s a very tricky and difficult task to orchestrate and Kettering has done a magnificent job. And we can’t forget the musical direction by Ross Scott Rawlings and the orchestra. They are always so good that you may think the music is pre-recorded but there is a live band tucked away in a room above the stage area and they do a great job.

The Toby’s buffet is also very yummy with dishes with names themed to the show, including Farfalle (‘Far-fal-le … must be Italian’), Mother’s Meatloaf and Ralphie’s Redskin Mashed Potatoes, salad bar, choice of dessert and an ice cream bar to make your own sundae. Each show also has its own specialty drink in a keepsake glass, and this show’s drink is called The Red Ryder, a frozen hot chocolate with Bailey’s Irish Cream, topped with whipped cream and silver candy balls. Very delicious!

As A Christmas Story is a holiday show, tickets will go quickly and is sure to be booked up as Christmas approaches so now is the time to book your reservations. A Christmas Story is joyful and heartfelt and is not to be missed!

A Christmas Story runs about 2 hours and 30 minutes with one 20 minute intermission.