‘A Christmas Story Live!’ airs Sunday night on Fox
A singing Ralphie Parker is heading to your living room.
“A Christmas Story Live!” debuts at 8 p.m. Sunday on Fox. Based on the Broadway show, “A Christmas Story: The Musical,” the three-hour TV special features Maya Rudolph as the Mom, Chris Diamantopoulos as the Old Man, Jane Krakowski as Miss Shields and 11-year-old Andy Walken as Ralphie.
Also on hand: Matthew Broderick as the narrator (the adult Ralphie looking back on one crazy holiday in the 1940s).
The requisite leg lamps, triple dog dares and Red Ryder BB gun desires will be in the mix, along with snarky asides about holi- days and families. Derived from the beloved 1983 film starring Peter Billingsley, Darren McGavin and Melinda Dillon, the musical hit Broadway in 2012 and has been a seasonal touring show ever since.
The film, directed by Bob Clark and based on the writings and radio musings of Jean Shepherd, was partially shot in Cleveland, a location now memorialized by A Christmas Story House and Museum.
A live shot from the street is slated to be part of the Fox broadcast, around 7:40 p.m.
The songs for the musical, including “You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out,” “A Major Award,” “At Higbee’s,” “What a Mother Does” and “The Genius on Cleveland Street,” were written by then-newcomers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. They have since won an Oscar in February for Best Original Song for “City of Stars” from “La La Land” (co-written with Justin Hurwitz). They also won a Tony Award in June for their score for “Dear Evan Hansen.” Their latest project, the movie “The Greatest Showman” starring Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron, just hit theaters.
The live musical phenomenon in the modern TV era was kick-started by “The Sound of Music” in 2013, with Carrie Underwood trading Nashville for the Austrian Alps. Subsequent musical shows have given us “Peter Pan,” “Hairspray,” “Grease” and “The Wiz.” “Jesus Christ Superstar Live!” is coming next April, and “Rent Live!” is slated for January 2019.
The “Christmas Story” production will be escapism to a particular time and place (1940s Indiana). They will use 14 carefully choreographed cameras, with Scott Ellis directing the stage aspects and Alex Rudzinski calling the TV shots.
“The cameras are going to move in a very cinematic way,” said executive producer Marc Platt, “and it’s going to feel like a real world.”
That world will include Ken Jeong, playing a Christmas tree salesman and a restaurant owner, and David Alan Grier as Santa.