“A Christmas Story: The Musical” makes for a magical night in Boston

The movie “A Christmas Story” is a musical, and it is playing in Boston at the Boch Center Wang Theatre through Dec. 19. Seeing it in person was amazing, and the whole cast was incredible. The whole event is an experience: the ambiance of Boston at night, the show itself, and the happiness surrounding the theater and everyone in it. 

When you first get to the Boch Center, you will immediately notice the beautiful scenery. The interior is very colorful and open, having plenty of space for countless rooms and carpeted staircases. The patterns and decoration throughout the lobby are detailed to perfection, resulting in everybody in the building eager to take pictures.

As you make your way out of the main entrance, people are there to kindly greet you and check your vaccination card. If you are not vaccinated, you have to show negative COVID-19 test results within 72 hours of the show. From there, someone checks your tickets and you’re free to go in. Walking in you see vendors selling food, families taking pictures, and a beautiful view, all of which make you feel welcomed.

But the show is the best part of it all. The stage is set to look like a big snow globe, and the set stays with the fake snow around it the entire show.

The first half of the show is longer than the second half, or at least felt much longer. It includes numbers such as “What a Mother Does,” “When You’re a Wimp,” and, my personal favorite, “Red Ryder Carbine Action BB Gun.”

The background music was great, and the transitions of sets were amazing. The main set is a look inside Ralphie’s house, with the audience being able to see two floors of the house. It is used throughout most of the musical and is amazing to look at. It really made me feel like I was a part of their story. 

The second act has amazing numbers, with “Up on Santa’s Lap” being the most energy-filled and sassy scene of the whole musical. It includes Santa and his elves dancing and kicking Ralphie off his lap and down a slide, to his dismay.

The slide set is magical, with the floor looking like a sheet of ice, and the slide resembling the colors of a candy cane. This act also includes the main house set, but a lot of it takes place “outdoors”. For example, the family will occasionally set out on a mini journey. In their little red car with both parents in the front seats and their two children in the back, the charismatic group often drives down a road surrounded by snowy forest trees.

On top of this, there is also a comedic in-school scene with Ralphie and his rival Farkus. It includes the iconic scene from the original film, when the bully gets his tongue stuck to the pole outside, just before the bell rings. The audience was full of uncontrollable laughter the second the scene started. 

To make it even better, throughout the entire show, the older version of Ralphie is the narrator. He can be seen in every scene, off to the side watching himself in memories. He pauses the story every now and then to tell us some background info and make the show even funnier than it already was. 

And when I say pause, I mean literally pause. The actors stop all body and background movement to let him speak, as if we is watching a video and he had the remote.

Overall, my favorite part of the show were the pairs of song breakouts and dance numbers. Everybody in the cast and crew was extremely talented and did a phenomenal job. The voices of the characters, as well as the music following along, was incredible to hear, and greatly captured the emotions of the show. And I can’t even begin to describe how well this group did with the choreography. The dances paired along with the music were the best thing to watch. I couldn’t find myself to look away. 

If you haven’t seen this musical yet and need something to do for the holidays, go buy yourself and loved ones tickets! I highly recommend the show, the theater, and everything that comes with it. You will definitely enjoy the magical experience of reliving this classic story. 

(“A Christmas Story: The Musical” is playing at Boston’s Wang Theatre from Dec. 10-19, 2021. For information or tickets, go HERE.)

–Dec. 13, 2021–