Halloween is over and a strong whiff of Christmas is coming from Pullman, where Regional Theatre of the Palouse opens A Christmas Story, The Musical tonight.
The Broadway show is based on the classic holiday movie set in the 1940s in the fictional town of Homan, Ind., where 9-year-old Ralphie Parker burns with desire for a Red Ryder BB gun. His mother says absolutely not, and Ralphie hatches numerous plots to get the gun for Christmas.
The musical holds tight to the movies iconic scenes: the boy who gets his tongue stuck to the flagpole, rough-and-tumble school bullies, the hideous leg lamp, the unwanted bunny suit, etc. The score, composed by Tony award-winning artists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, ranges from gentle ballads to show-stopping full-ensemble numbers like, A Major Award, Up on Santas Lap and the inevitable Youll Shoot Your Eye Out. Based on the book In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash, song and dance shoots the movie version into a new dimension for lovers of this beloved story about family bonds and holiday expectations.If You Go WHAT: A Christmas Story, The Musical WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2, Nov. 3-4, 8 and Nov. 9-11 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 4- 5 and Nov. 11-12. WHERE: Regional Theatre of the Palouse, 122 N. Grand Ave., Pullman COST: $12 to $20 by calling (509) 334-0750, online at rtoptheatre.org or at the door