Stage Door News
Stage Door News
A movie favourite comes to life just in time for the holiday season, with the staging of A Christmas Story at The Grand Theatre in London.
Stratford actor Steve Ross stars in the production as the grown-up Ralphie Parker, the irrepressible nine-year-old whose only wish for Christmas is a Red Ryder 200-shot BB gun.
The show opens Friday and runs to Dec. 30.
Ross, a 12-year veteran of the Stratford Festival, said the stage version remains faithful to all the many classic moments of Jean Shepherd's 1983 movie, but is seamlessly adapted to work in front of a live audience.
"When they put it to stage, they decided to structure it in such a way that the whole thing became a memory play," Ross said Thursday.
"I'm sort of the tour guide for the evening, and I take the audience through this one Christmas when I wanted that BB gun so badly."
It's a tale that's become so ingrained in popular culture that it's something of a must-see for many families, he noted.
In a way, it's supplanted the classic A Christmas Carol as a generation's favourite holiday story.
"It's a warm Christmas story, but it's a different Christmas story. It's not that traditional tale," he said.
"It's just a family trying to get by in a much simpler time, a less commercial time. I feel like that's part of it. You get two hours just to breathe and to laugh.
"And it's not a perfect family, which I love. There's so much love in that family, but it's a flawed family. So we see ourselves, I think."
Ross is one of only four adults in the Susan Ferley-directed production, which features seven young performers in key roles. Watching the youngsters take ownership of those roles through the rehearsal process has been a treat, he said.
"They've all been fantastic," he said. "It's been a real pleasure. I've never worked with kids who've had this much responsibility before.
"I've done a lot of shows with kids, but often they'll have, like, two scenes, but these kids are on all the time. It's been amazing to watch them."
Callum Thompson, who plays the younger Ralphie, for instance, is in just his second theatrical production, and the first in which he speaks.
"He's amazing, just amazing," Ross said.
The show runs weekdays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 1 p.m. It's recommended for ages seven and up.
That family-friendly atmosphere is something that Ross has come to appreciate over his many years in the theatre, including in his starring role as Shrek last Christmas at The Grand.
"I love the back and forth that goes on," said Ross, who returns to the Stratford Festival next season in Shakespeare in Love and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
"There's something about kids watching their parents enjoy it on a different level. It fascinates me, the whole dynamic, because it somehow draws them closer together, because they're sharing in the joke."
For tickets, visit www.grandtheatre.ca.
By Scott Wishart for www.stratfordbeaconherald.com.
Photo: Steve Ross and Callum Thompson. ©2015 Mike Hensen.
2015-11-26
London: Stratford actor Steve Ross stars in "A Christmas Story" at the Grand Theatre