Beginning this week, Albuquerque Little Theatre (224 San Pasquale Ave. SW) is rekindling memories and splitting sides with a nostalgic holiday production of A Christmas Story: The Musical, which runs until Dec. 24. Whether the soundtrack to your childhood is filled with voiceovers from the classic 1983 film, or you just enjoy a side of laughs with your gingerbread cookies and milk, ALT double dog dares you not to crack a big smile during this play.
In case you’re not familiar with the plot, A Christmas Story: The Musical tells the coming-of-age story of Ralphie Parker (Jude Chavez Stromei) and his quest for the Holy Grail of Christmas gifts: the legendary Red Ryder BB gun. The stage production is adapted from director Bob Clark’s iconic film and based on the 1966 semi-autobiographical collection of Jean Shepherd’s short stories In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash. The musical is narrated by Shepherd’s character (played by Timothy Chivalette) and directed by Tanner Sroufe. Although the play might contain some small differences from what you remember watching on screen, Sroufe says audiences may find this version story easier to follow, and it has “all the major beats of the movie.”
“The Red Rider BB gun is obviously the main theme, and Ralphie is trying to find a way to get this gun at any cost. And there are some of the iconic scenes like Ralphie coming out in the pink bunny suit on Christmas morning,” he says. “So you will see all of those moments that you’ll expect if you’re a fan of the movie. I think the musical is organized a little bit more cleverly. The movie feels kind of like it’s done vignette to vignette. The musical strings them together a little bit better and a little bit more clearly. I grew up with the movie like a lot of people did. I rewatched it a couple times, obviously, in preparation for the show, but I have been a fan of it my whole life. It’s one of those movies that has always been around. It’s a great movie. How could you not be a fan of A Christmas Story?”
Sroufe says he’s been doing theater in some capacity pretty much his whole life, but more formally, he’s been doing community theater in Albuquerque since 2016. This isn’t his first time working with ALT, either. He sang in the company’s 2017 production of The Addams Family: The Musical and has been seen performing on various Albuquerque stages for the last decade or so, but he “fell in love with directing” in 2022 with Clue: On Stage (Hold the Applause Productions) at Desert Rose Playhouse in Albuquerque. He’s been busy in 2025 working as assistant director for ALT’s stage adaptation of Steven King’s Misery and director and sound/set designer for The Underpants at the Adobe Theater. Sroufe says he’s acted alongside most of the adults who make up the cast of A Christmas Story: The Musical or knows them socially ‘in some capacity,” but this is his first experience directing a musical, and it’s a big one.
“It’s definitely an undertaking, and it’s definitely a lot to a lot to bite off for my first time, but it’s been a lot of fun, and I don’t think I’ve ever learned so much on a show. Working with kids is brand new to me. I was nervous going into it, but it has been a surprisingly fulfilling experience. They are doing so well, and it’s crazy how smart and funny and how with it these kids are. They just get it.”
The two youngest members of this all-local cast are only 8 years old, and most of the young actors in the musical are in middle and high school. But perhaps being too young to have seen the movie when it hit the big screen gives the youngsters the ability to learn the script with little or no preconceptions about what the story “should” look like. Sroufe says the musical follows the same plot as the movie with few changes, and in fact, certain characters are developed a bit more. Since the original author Jean Shepherd narrates the show, Timothy Chivalette’s role as the storyteller is “fully ingrained” in the entire production. And we will get to see a female actress play one of the most important roles (even though a male actor had that tough job in the film). One unforgettable moment in the story involves freezing temperatures, a flag pole and a schoolyard dare that results in the character Flick (played by Lily Pines) biting off a bit more than she can chew. Sroufe says the musical has all of the big points that you’ll want to see from the movie.
“We’ve got a flagpole on stage, and it’s a whole dance number with a song called ‘Sticky Situation,’” Sroufe says. “There’s another song called ‘Red Ryder Carbine-Action BB Gun,’ and [the scene] is like a classic musical theater dream ballet. So, it’s Ralphie basically going through this entire scene with Red Ryder – a cowboy from an old comic book – and that’s what the marketing of the BB gun was based off of. But we have a dancer that comes out in the Red Ryder cowboy costume with the gun, and it launches us off into what Ralphie’s trajectory is going to be for the rest of the show.”
Ralphie’s mother plays a larger role in ALT’s musical than in the movie as well, with two big solo numbers. Sroufe says her character gets “a lot more fleshed out” and Albuquerque-based coloratura soprano Mary Brzezinski – who has a Master’s in Vocal Performance from UNM – does “a crazy good job” with the songs. Audiences will get to enjoy moments from the movie, such as watching a mean-spirited mall Santa ruin our image of jolly old St. Nick, or hilarious arguments between husbands and wives over living room decorations. If you don’t know what the “leg lamp” is, you’re in for another holiday treat. All the necessary visual elements will be there, and Sroufe says his good friend and prop and sound designer Lando Ruiz is a genius in that capacity.
“It’s really been a pretty big community effort to put this show together, and it’s been a little bit stressful, but it’s been so rewarding to watch everyone put their heads together and get it done, especially the kids. At every rehearsal, I’m impressed with them more and more,” Sroufe says.
A Christmas Story: The Musical
Albuquerque Little Theatre
224 San Pasquale Ave. SW
Dec. 5-24
Fri. & Sat. 7:30 p.m.
Sat. & Sun. 2 p.m.
albuquerquelittletheatre.org