A Christmas Story was a modest success when the film was first released in 1983. By the end of the decade, it had become a classic holiday comedy, airing annually on television and spawning sequels on PBS and later for the big screen, DVD and premium cable. A faithful musical version first created in 2009 has gone on to tour almost every year since 2014. The 2025 edition arrives in Dallas this month, presented by the AT&T Performing Arts Center, before moving on to Fort Worth in December.
Set vaguely around 1939 or 1940 and based on the semi-autobiographical writings of radio personality Jean Shepherd, A Christmas Story tells the nostalgic tale of 9-year-old Ralphie Parker and his unflinching desire to find a Red Ryder model BB gun under the Christmas tree. The adults in his life, including his mom, a teacher and Santa, think he’ll only wind up shooting an eye out.
Built in a series of vignettes, A Christmas Story is full of subplots involving school bullies, pink bunny pajamas, a scandalous leg lamp won by Ralphie’s father in a crossword puzzle contest and the licking of a freezing flagpole on a dare.
The musical was composed by the successful songwriting team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen, James and the Giant Peach, Dogfight). It had a Broadway run in 2012 and was nominated for three Tony Awards, including best musical, original score and book. In 2017, a live version aired on Fox.
Details
Nov. 21-23 at Winspear Opera House. Tickets at attpac.org. Dec. 5-7 at Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth. Tickets at basshall.com.
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