With Christmas time fast approaching, the arts is starting to roll out the many holiday-themed events none more so than Broadway. The genre has been traditionally strong in this field and this year acts like "A Christmas Story: The Musical," are beginning to do the rounds on the musical circuit.
This year the show is being performed over by the Lunt-Fontanne Theater in Manhattan and opened up on Nov. 19 and will have a final curtain call on Dec. 30. The John Rando show is getting fine reviews from critics which isn't a surprise since it was based on classic book by Joseph Robinette.
Elisabeth Vincentelli of the New York Post wrote:
"This is a sweet, funny holiday outing, the rare family entertainment that doesn't feel like a soulless, dumbed-down corporate product. Even the obligatory merchandise - leg lamps and all - looks good."
Charles Isherwood of The New York Times wrote:
"You'd have to have a Grinch-size heart not to feel a smile spreading across your face when Luke Spring, a 9-year-old dynamo with feathers for feet, starts tapping his little heart out in "A Christmas Story,"...Clad in a sleek black suit, his high-wattage grin beaming into the auditorium, this energetic little charmer raises such a merry clatter with his nimble dancing that it all but brings down the house.
David Rooney of the Hollywood Reporter wrote:
"Leaving aside It's a Wonderful Life, I confess my tolerance for holiday movies is pretty low. Likewise for holiday musicals. But A Christmas Story wore down my defenses. A cut above the pack, it's cute, corny, wholesome and sentimental - all basic requirements for family-friendly seasonal stage entertainment. But it also packs ample heart into its wistful glance back to a time when rewards were simpler, communities were closer-knit and both parental and filial roles were less polluted by the infinite distractions and anxieties of contemporary life."
Set in 1940 the play centers on "Ralphie," a boy who wants a Red Ryder BB gun and a whole host of other items including a pink bunny. The only thing stopping him is a department store Santa, a lamp and a triple-dog-dare to lick an ice cold flagpole.
Another Christmas show popping up on Broadway scene is "Elf," a musical based on the popular movie starring comdefian Will Farrel.
