ciocio-2

I was glad to get the chance to see this adaptation of the stage musical A CHRISTMAS STORY, which was, of course, adapted from the popular movie of the same name, which had been adapted from the reminiscences of Jean Shepherd. LOTS of great talent was in evidence here, from the various writers, designers, directors (imdb lists two), choreographer, musicians, performers, et al. I found the score to be mostly charming and fitting. I was especially touched by the mom's song about how sometimes blessedly fleeting a moment can be, and it was nicely delivered by Maya Rudolph. As some others have pointed out, Chris Diamantopoulos was particularly excellent as Mr. Parker. I quite liked having the older Ralphie in the mix, embodied by Matthew Broderick, who did a lovely job (I came close to forgiving him for his terribly misbegotten Harold Hill, which was just one of the many crimes in that awful ABC MUSIC MAN, from some years back, albeit one of the most glaring of them).

This program got apparently terrible ratings (a little known musical, up against a big football game--duh), but I feel it deserved much better, and I thank the powers that be for making this happen.

I'm forever grateful to Spike Lee for committing this show to film, and somehow conveying so much live energy and excitement with it. I agree with the other reviewer, that this is one of Mr. Lee's best films, even though it's a very different animal from his others (and, in a way, less his than the others, which makes me even more grateful to him, that he took the time and trouble to put this show on film so well).

The entire cast is no less than BRILLIANT, playing so many incredibly diverse characters totally convincingly. Daniel Breaker plays only the role of the young Stew, and is magnificent! (If there's any justice, he will be a big star, on stage and screen). I really hope that Stew and Heidi Rodewald write more shows together, which reminds me to mention how fabulous those two and the rest of the band are in this. The other cast members are: Eisa Davis (the other cast member playing only one role, Stew's mother); De'Adre Aziza; Colman Domingo; Chad Goodridge; Rebecca Naomi Jones; and, of course, Stew, as himself and narrator and band member/leader. Amazing what such a small group of performers can conjure up! If only all good stage shows could get screen transfers this dynamic and well done, capturing their particular atmospheres as this one does.