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A Christmas Story Live!

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A Christmas Story Live!
GenreMusical
Based on
Written by
  • Robert Cary
  • Jonathan Tolins
Directed by
Starring
Narrated byMatthew Broderick
Composers
  • Benj Pasek
  • Justin Paul
Country of originUnited States
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Robert Cary
  • Jonathan Tolins
Production locationsWarner Bros. Studios, Burbank, California[1]
Running time133 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkFox
ReleaseDecember 17, 2017 (2017-12-17)

A Christmas Story Live! is an American television special[2] that was originally broadcast by Fox on December 17, 2017.[3] It was a live, televised musical remake of the 1983 film A Christmas Story, and incorporated the 2012 stage musical version A Christmas Story: The Musical. The live musical was executive produced by Marc Platt and Adam Siegel, directed by Scott Ellis and Alex Rudzinski, and starred Matthew Broderick, Andy Walken, Maya Rudolph, Chris Diamantopoulos, and Jane Krakowski.

Premise

A Christmas Story Live! is based on "the short stories of humorist Jean Shepherd and is set in 1940's Indiana. It follows 9-year-old Ralphie Parker and his unrelenting desire to get his hands on a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas".[4]

Cast and characters

The Parker Family

School characters

  • Jane Krakowski as Miss Shields
  • Sammy Ramirez as Schwartz[5]
  • JJ Batteast as Flick[5]
  • Sacha Carlson as Scut Farkus[5]
  • Elie Samouhi as Grover Dill[7]
  • Abigail Dylan Harrison as Louise[7]
  • Artyon Celestine as Richie[7]
  • Allie Kiesel as Mary Beth[7]
  • Hayley Shukiar as Esther Jane

Other

Musical numbers

Two songs were created exclusively for the live broadcast that were not present in the original Broadway production: "Count On Christmas" and "In the Market for a Miracle". In addition, three songs from the Broadway production were cut or reworked. "Overture" and "Parker Family Singalong" were both cut, while "Act One Finale" was reworked as "Ralphie's Nightmare". The song "Up on Santa's Lap" was included in the television broadcast but not included on the A Christmas Story Live! album.[9]

Opening number
  1. ^ a b c Song was written specifically for the television production.

Production

The production was based on A Christmas Story: The Musical, which in turn was based on the 1983 film. Marc Platt reprised his role as co-executive producer from the live television musical of Grease: Live (2016), joined by Adam Siegel, and television director Alex Rudzinski and theatrical director Scott Ellis. It was broadcast from the Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, California, primarily using outdoor sets. Ellis noted that emphasis on the "feeling of family" was an important aspect of the production, as "it's not just razzle-dazzle stuff and big musical numbers. Our challenge is to never lose sight of the family aspect. And I think — I hope — we've succeeded in that". Songwriting duo Pasek & Paul, who wrote the songs for A Christmas Story: The Musical, wrote three new songs for the production, including "In the Market for a Miracle" for Mrs. Schwartz, "Ralphie's Nightmare" for the Parker family, and the opening theme "Count on Christmas".[4]

Pasek noted that the team had to try to maintain a balance between preserving the familiar and iconic aspects of the film, while also expanding upon it through its musical format. He explained that "there are certain moments where we want to stay true to what people remember and then there's other moments where we have permission to do what only musical theater can do and turn the dad's fantasy into a tap dancing number". Platt remarked that, when working on a project such as this, "you prepare for the unknown. That's what makes live TV exciting. There are certain things that happen that you can't anticipate".[4]

Unlike previous years, NBC did not broadcast a live musical for the 2017 holiday season; while it did plan to produce a version of Bye Bye Birdie executive-produced by and starring Jennifer Lopez, it was delayed and eventually abandoned.[2][4] The broadcast ultimately competed against ABC's annual presentation of the film The Sound of Music, as well as NBC's Sunday Night Football between the Dallas Cowboys and Oakland Raiders.[10]

During the special, Fox also broadcast a live, 2-and-a-half-minute commercial for The Greatest Showman, a then-upcoming musical film that also featured songs written by Pasek and Paul. The spot, which was directed by Michael Gracey and Beth McCarthy-Miller, and also simulcast on Facebook, featured a performance of the number "Come Alive" with the film's stars Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Keala Settle, and Zendaya. The presentation was billed as the first live television commercial for a film.[11][12]

Matthew Broderick, who served as the adult Ralphie, coincidentally had previous ties to the material, as his father James Broderick had played Ralphie's father The Old Man in two television films prior to A Christmas Story.[13]

Reception

Critical response

A Christmas Story Live! received generally negative reviews, with the general audience reacting more harshly than professional critics.[14] On Rotten Tomatoes, the production received a 43% rating based on 14 reviews.[15] The show's three-hour length and musical numbers drew the most negative reactions, as Fox did not promote the program as a musical, and the lavish Broadway musical numbers were perceived to clash with the story's Midwestern setting.[16] However, most of the individual actors' performances were positively received, as were the technical aspects of the special (such as scene and wardrobe changes).

The Los Angeles Times praised the performers: "...Matthew Broderick, who found his own, gentler way through Shepherd's pointy prose...Maya Rudolph was affecting as Ralphie's mother, Chris Diamantopoulos gruff if less than epic as his father, the Old Man...Andy Walken was a good visual match for the movie's Peter Billingsley,...The whole company of kids, in fact, was energetic and on their marks,... Schwartz's mother, previously an offended voice on the other end of a phone call, was here gloriously embodied by Ana Gasteyer, who brought in a Hanukkah theme..." but noted that "...the virtues that have made the movie a seasonal perennial were somewhat swallowed by the narrative digressions and showstopping gestures of the musical".[17]

Ratings

The overnight Nielsen ratings were a 2.8 rating/5 share with 4.52 million viewers,[18] as compared to the Fox network live telecast of Grease: Live in January 2016, which earned a 7.4 overnight and 12 million viewers.[19]

Fox reran A Christmas Story Live! in an edited two-hour time slot December 24, 2019. This telecast earned 1.11 million viewers, a 0.3 overnight rating and a 2 share.[20] The rerun was also notable for going up against the original film in the first airing of its annual marathon on TBS; the original drew more than twice the number of viewers.[21]

Awards and nominations

Accolades for A Christmas Story Live!
Award Category Nominee(s) Result
70th Primetime Emmy Awards[22][23] Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
(for "In the Market for a Miracle") 		Nominated
34th Artios Awards[24] Outstanding Achievement in Casting –
Live Television Performance, Variety or Sketch Comedy 		Bernard Telsey, Tiffany Little Canfield,
Rachel Hoffman, & Rachel Dill (Associate) 		Nominated

See also

References

  1. ^ Rosky, Nicole (October 25, 2017). "Ana Gasteyer will join cast of Fox's A Christmas Story Live!". BroadwayWorld. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Keveney, Bill (17 December 2017). "Behold the leg lamp: Fox's 'A Christmas Story' offers live-musical take on holiday classic". USA Today. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  3. ^ Fierberg, Ruthie (November 1, 2017). "Watch This First Glimpse of Fox's A Christmas Story Live!". Playbill. Archived from the original on February 19, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Villarreal, Yvonne (2017-12-16). "The leg lamp! The frozen pole! Fox prepares to bring a holiday classic to life with 'A Christmas Story Live!'". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on 2017-12-18. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  5. ^ a b c d e Fierberg, Ruthie. "Meet the Kid Cast of A Christmas Story Live!". Playbill. Archived from the original on 17 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  6. ^ Agard, Chancellor (September 21, 2017). "Matthew Broderick joins Fox's A Christmas Story Live!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d Weigle, Lauren (17 December 2017). "'A Christmas Story Live' Cast List for FOX's Musical". Heavy.com. Archived from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  8. ^ Lenker, Maureen Lee. "'A Christmas Story Live': 5 things to look out for during the musical broadcast". EW.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  9. ^ "A Christmas Story Live! by Various Artists on Apple Music". iTunes.Apple.com. 18 December 2017. Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  10. ^ Patten, Dominic (2017-12-18). "'Sunday Night Football' Ratings Up, Low 'Christmas Story Live!' Topped By 'Sound Of Music' Movie Encore In Viewers". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2017-12-21. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  11. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (2017-12-18). "'The Greatest Showman' Live Movie Trailer Electrifies During 'A Christmas Story Live'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 2017-12-19. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  12. ^ Natividad, Angela (December 18, 2017). "Hugh Jackman's Live Ad Last Night for The Greatest Showman Was Quite the Circus". Adweek. Archived from the original on 2021-01-18. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  13. ^ Channel Guide staff (December 19, 2012). ""A Christmas Story 2" isn't the only Ralphie sequel out there". Channel Guide Magazine. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  14. ^ Melas, Chloe (18 December 2017). "'A Christmas Story Live' didn't bring the holiday cheer". CNN. Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2021. widely panned by both viewers and critics
  15. ^ "A Christmas Story Live!". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 2018-01-11. Retrieved 2017-12-24.
  16. ^ Longeretta, Emily (December 18, 2017). "'A Christmas Story Live!' Viewers Confused by Musical Event — Read the Reactions". Us Weekly. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  17. ^ Lloyd, Robert (December 17, 2017). "'A Christmas Story Live!' gets merry with Maya Rudolph and a winning Ralphie". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  18. ^ "TV Ratings Sunday Dec 17, 2017" zap2it.com
  19. ^ McPhee, Ryan (December 18, 2017). "A Christmas Story Live! Ratings: Up Against Football, Fox Faces Numbers Dip Compared to Grease". Playbill. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  20. ^ Tuesday final ratings: Dec. 24, 2019
  21. ^ "Tuesday cable ratings: 'A Christmas Story' carries TBS to victory". TV By the Numbers. December 27, 2019. Archived from the original on December 28, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  22. ^ Hipes, Patrick (July 12, 2018). "Emmy Nominations: 'Game Of Thrones, 'The Americans', 'Atlanta', Defending Champ 'Handmaid's Tale' Among Top Nominees". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 13, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  23. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (September 9, 2018). "Anthony Bourdain, 'Jesus Christ Superstar' and 'Saturday Night Live' Win Big on Night 2 of Creative Arts Emmy Awards". Variety. Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  24. ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (January 31, 2019). "Casting Society of America's Artios Awards: 'Green Book', 'Vice' Among Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
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