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'A Christmas Story' a sentimental success
Airdate: Thursday - November 16, 2000

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Show Description

Valparaiso's Community Theatre Guild gets an early start on the holiday season with its production of "A Christmas Story," a delightful trip down memory lane tailor-made for the region by the late Jean Shepherd of Hammond. Vividly recounted by Ralph Parker (Brian Guerre), the story tells of the adventures of his ninth year as it approaches the Christmas season. Then, as Ralphie Parker (Nick Rapley), he had been consumed with passion for the "Genuine Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-Shot Lightning Loader Range Model Air Rifle with a Shock-Proof High Adventure Combination Trail Compass and Sundial Set Right in the Stock," which Ralphie, like any red-blooded American Boy, believes to be absolutely necessary to protect his family and friends from the likes of the outlaw, Black Bart (John Taylor) and his marauding band, or the wild beasts and reptiles of the "unforgiving Indiana swamp." But the most implacable threat to his objective is the parental mantra, "You'll shoot your eye out" invoked to neutralize Ralphie's efforts to persuade his parents to "influence Santa Claus" on his behalf. Rapley and Guerre fit their roles as well as growth rings of the same tree in this nostalgic look at pre-World War II "Steel Belt" customs and domestic artifacts, many of which may seem alien from the perspective of some who have never known less than a high-tech universe. Yet, the story strikes chords that transcend technology. The Old Man's boundless optimism toward the contests that characterized the era is perfectly understandable to the millions mesmerized by today's numerous game shows. The fear of Scot Farkus (S.J. Alessi), the local bully that traumatized kids on the way to Ralphie's school still hovers over the pathways between home and school, only today the nightmarish fantasies of Ralphie's generation have become too real for too many. The natural affinity of peers, which characterized the formation of friendships in the 1930s, is still present today, made stronger, perhaps by massive, age-targeted marketing and conditioning. Unknowingly guiding us to the familiar substance beneath the unfamiliar landscape are Ralphie's school mates, Schwartz (Vic Wedzina), Flick (Mark Blane), Esther Jane (Angie Shriner the evening we attended, alternating with Sarah Lindsey) and Helen (Sara Langer, alternating with Carly Blane), their teacher, Miss Shields (Marcia Gienapp, alternating with Sheri Nash-Braun) and Ralphie's younger brother, Randy (Kevin Stevick, alternating with Andrew Ralph), a mixture of young Eddie Munster, Pugsley Addams and the Roseanne Show's "D.J.," whose ability to disappear might have caused Harry Houdini to consider becoming a streetcar conductor. The young actors playing Ralphie and his pals are well cast by directors Traci Brant and Jonni Pera. Together they re-create the confining atmosphere of the early primary grades, the joys -- and terrors -- of congregating freely on the exciting -- and sometimes frightening -- trails between home and school but, above all, they shine in Ralphie's various fantasies, as he calls upon his imaginary air rifle to rescue his endangered buddies from all sorts of incredible hazards. CTG's "A Christmas Story" is a kids' story, but only in the broadest sense of the term, because it awakens the memory of the kid within each of us.

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