You know the story. The BB gun, the leg lamp, the childhood wonder — it’s all part of Jean Shepherd’s “A Christmas Story” and it opens for the holiday season at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.
We sat down with some of the adults in the show to talk about the play, why it’s had such staying power throughout the years and even share some personal stories of Christmas past. Here’s our conversation with John Ottavino, who plays the narrator, aka grown-up Ralphie; Justin R. G. Holcomb, who plays The Old Man, Ralphie’s father; Claire Brownell, who plays Ralphie’s mother; and the show’s director Mark Shanahan.
Opening night for “A Christmas Story” is Friday, Dec. 2. For tickets and more information, click here.
These are iconic characters, but now that you know them up close, how would you describe yours and what’s your favorite thing about them?
John Ottavino: He’s a writer, he’s a humorist and he’s here to improve your Christmas by telling you a story of the greatest Christmas that there ever was in his life. A bunch of really good things happened, he grew up, he got the gift he always wanted and he found out what really mattered. He’s throwing this party that people are attending — that’s the people in the comfy seats, the audience — and he starts this story to improve his Christmas and theirs. There’s a little bit of a warning not to miss what really matters…
I grew up listening to Jean Shepherd (author of “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash,” the book “A Christmas Story” is based on) on the radio. He had a 20-year show where he’d be on from 9-10 and 10-11. My goal was always to get my homework done by 10, turn on the radio and listen to him as I fell asleep every night. He never talked about politics or religion; he talked about human nature and how it is expressed. By listening to him, he expanded my world enormously. … But he always sounded like he was talking directly to me. There was this connection with a grownup who was explaining the world to you, but not the way your parents explain it. He was like the hip uncle who was cluing you in to the real stuff, the good stuff.
Justin R. G. Holcomb: I’m playing The Old Man, who is Ralphie’s father. What I love about The Old Man is he is the embodiment of American grit and determination. The depression isn’t spoken to directly in the show, but the show is set in the ‘30s/40s so it’s either in the depression or just post-depression. So here’s a man who’s dealing with an old furnace, all the cars he buys are used and through the narrator’s eyes, he’s gilded with this kind of hero warrior essence to where these things that he’s doing just to survive, to put food on the table — the same dinners every night except for holidays — these things that aren’t pleasant to deal with are shown as heroic attributes and skills.
And he loses. The Old Man constantly loses in this show, but he keeps persevering, keeps trying, and in the bosom of his family. It’s the one constant that he does have. Then he goes into the outside world with barking dogs that chase him constantly and the possibility of losing a job. It’s chaos, but then he comes home and that’s where he finds stability, that’s what keeps him going.
Claire Brownell: I play The Mother. I think what really defines her is her family and all that she does for her family. That’s also sort of what I love about her, but what I really like is how she never stops. I think it’s actually a pretty accurate representation. I don’t have children, but my sister does, and it’s like her mind is always going in multiple directions and solving multiple problems at once. There are always fires to be put out, literal and figurative, and The Mother’s on top of it. She’s anticipating everything and doesn’t get to relax, but it isn’t really in her interest to stop. She’s trying to create this home and get everybody out the door and prepare for when they come back. I love that she’s in the middle of a storm that, in a way, she’s creating, but she’s got her hands on everything. She’s an anchor for the family and the show.
For most people, their point of reference for this story is the movie, so what differences can the audience expect between that and this show?
JO: I’ve never seen the movie. If I like someone’s writing or a novel, I almost never watch the movie. There’s a big chunk of this story that I’ve read from Shepherd’s short stories, so I knew about some characters and plot points… I’ve seen maybe a few clips over the years, but I never sat down and watched it.
CB: I grew up on the movie and I loved it and I still love it. There are many differences, but it’s the same story. The way it’s told is unique and here, the narrator’s on a stage. You’re seeing the house, the flow of events happen in front of you and the narrator there to guide the story. You still see the big events that you know are coming in the movie. I love the movie, I love the play, there’s no losing for me.
JRGH: There are some slight narrative differences in the story. All the highlights are hit, no big chunks from the movie that don’t come up in the show, but the best difference is the energy of live theater. You see a movie in a movie theater and you up the energy from watching something on your couch. You go to a movie premiere to up that energy and share the experience with other people who are excited about it, too. But in live theater, you’re having a communion with the actual performers. There’s a transfer of energy there. While we’re feeding the audience, their reactions are feeding us in much the same way. It’s this big communal excitement and you can’t get that staring at a screen.
JO: It’s interesting because even though I’m on stage, I don’t play with any of the other characters on stage. I play with the audience. They’re who I’m having a conversation with.
Mark Shanahan: There’s the short story, the movie and the play, there’s even a musical version. I think the fact that it exists in so many mediums is that for some reason, this story has morphed into every different way of being told, which I love because it’s “A Christmas Story.” Everybody has their Christmas story, but this one get told in so many ways.
The movie rightly takes the best parts of the short story and expands on them with the Jean Shepherd voiceover. But I think the great thing about the play is that the narrator, that voice, is on stage as a character who’s isn’t just an outsider. It’s a play about a guy who wishes he could go back, like we all do to some extent, I think. You wish that you could see the people that you miss at Christmas time, and he gets a chance to do that and remember what was so valuable about that tradition. When we see him reexperience his childhood and what mattered to him, it’s really a theatrical event.
This telling of the story is about how this story can really only be told in the theater. This is a different version about remembrance coming to life in a way that the movie can’t achieve. Anybody can rent the movie, but you have to be in the room with us to experience this.
What’s something that, since you started working on this play, has really resonated with you that you didn’t get from the movie or the memoir or the radio show?
JO: I don’t know if this counts, but Randy, the kid brother, always used to creep me out. He was always hiding under something, whimpering, food on his face, whatever. It just weirded me out a bit, but he’s definitely not a creepy kid in this play. He’s very nice, actually.
CB: The thing that resonates with me is, well, dull, but that’s the point. There are many scenes that show the family’s day-to-day like it’s on repeat. We always talk about the mail, we always talk about the boys. So to have that to reflect back on and think about the things my husband and I talk about sometimes, yes, there are parts of our days that are kind of on a loop, but there’s something really comforting about them. My husband will bring up the weather every day, and to me, those things, those routines aren’t boring. I think that adds substance.
What’s it like working with the kids in this show?
JRGH: There are seven and then three understudies. They outnumber us.
CB: And the two brothers playing Ralphie and Randy are fantastic. When he says he’ll shoot his eye out, I have to stop myself because it’s hilarious. They’re all great.
JO: And they’re getting good! They’re so well prepared and they’re hitting their cues. We have to up our game. They’re sharp… They’re professionals working on a professional show with a professional theater… What’s required of me as a full-grown man is required of them.
JRGH: Even the understudies blow me away. They sit at a table to the side and take notes on everything that’s going on. They’re like tiny adults.
CB: Of course, Mark Shanahan is the captain of the ship and he’s done a really good job of budgeting time efficiently and making sure that he’s paint with broad strokes, then going back for the detail work. Everyone is engaged and utilized in a really efficient fashion, and when you’re dealing with a cast this size, no matter the age, you have to have someone who can do that and he’s doing a good job.
What one Christmas from your past has been one to remember?
JO: Mine was when my kid was four. It was when he was aware enough to just want something so badly and he wanted a Ninja Turtle pizza shooter. He tore open the package, he gasped, it was insane the joy he had. That was really cool.
JRGH: My favorite Christmases have been since I’ve had a nephew. On Christmas Eve in my family, we open all the presents from family, and on Christmas morning the gifts from Santa are arranged so that when the kids come down, everything is all put together. So my favorite time now is after the kids go to bed and the adults have their drinks and are trying to keep quiet while putting together these beautiful, brightly-colored toys… Then watching the kids come in and see it all in the morning, that’s the best.
CB: There certainly are Christmases that I love very much, but the thing I love most is that every year my dad and I will cook the Christmas dinner together. I love that. He ran a restaurant when I was growing up, so we’d always cook together at the restaurant. After I graduated high school, they sold the restaurant, but we still cook together. Even deciding the menu is fun because we have a little more leeway than Thanksgiving, and it’s things like one year we did red meat, but my aunt doesn’t eat red meat, so we always have to have a chicken option… Just stuff like that is so fun.
Now it’s time to weigh in on the biggest debate of 2016. When is the proper time to put up the Christmas tree?
JO: In my house, the tree is purchased by my wife and my son. It’s their ritual because I would probably get the Charlie Brown tree. They go together and it’s usually about 10 days before Christmas.
JRGH: I think I go by strict etiquette. Thanksgiving it goes up, and on the epiphany it comes down. My mother, however, puts hers up a week before Thanksgiving because she likes it up during the holiday.
CB: In the last 15 years, my mom has evolved to having the main tree, a secondary tree and sometimes a tertiary tree. There are themes, but there’s always a family tree and it’s all great. As for timing, I say up after Thanksgiving and down before New Year’s.
MS:We have a rule in our house now, but I didn’t have this growing up. My daughter’s birthday is on Dec.16. When you’re a December baby, you don’t want your birthday to compete with Christmas. The day after her birthday, we usually get the tree.