Will Ralphie get his Red Ryder?
A Christmas Story Live! comes to Fox Sunday.
If the world seems a bit crazy these days, a trip to a beloved past may be just the holiday tonic as Fox serves up A Christmas Story Live! (Sunday, 7 ET live/PT delayed).
The musical spectacular, airing from Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif., is this holiday season’s only live TV adaptation, this time of a 2012 Broadway musical based on a classic 1983 film set in 1940s Indiana.
“This show is a nice respite. I’ll take any good cheer I can get these days. It’s sweet to think about childhood dreams and family,” says Maya Rudolph, who plays Mother Parker to 9-year-old Ralphie (newcomer Andy Walken).
The cast also features Chris Diamantopoulos, Jane Krakowski, Ana Gasteyer, David Alan Grier and Ken Jeong. Matthew Broderick plays the on-screen narrator, an adult Ralphie.
Sweetness aside, the task of staging a sprawling live musical seems formidable even for Rudolph, a veteran of the tightrope, quick turnaround world of Saturday Night Live.
“I cut my teeth on Saturday Night Live in terms of a live show every week. This is just harder, probably because we’re doing a hybrid genre. It’s not a regular musical, not stage, not plain-old TV,” she says.
That doesn’t even take into account the smoky air and ashes that the cast and crew had to endure during rehearsals last week as fires raged in parts of Los Angeles.
All three versions of Christmas Story focus on Ralphie’s obsession with his hoped-for Christmas gift, a Red Ryder BB gun, and feature now-classic scenes with the leg lamp; Ralphie’s friend Flick (JJ Batteast) getting his tongue stuck to a frozen schoolyard flagpole; and dogs throwing a wrench into the holiday meal.
Executive producer Marc Platt ( Grease: Live) says Walken has handled the responsibility of a lead role with grace. “He’s been fantastic. He’s the hardest-working kid I know and he’s having a wonderful time.”
Broderick agrees with Rudolph’s assessment of the project’s challenges.
“It’s a very complex undertaking. There’s the organizing of (14) cameras and cables and actors and children and dogs. There’s musical numbers, there’s dancers. It’s quite a lot going on.”
Christmas Story includes songs from the Broadway musical by Oscar-winning Benj Pasek and Justin Paul ( La La Land), who wrote additional songs for the TV adaptation.
Cast and producers say they’re approaching the complex production with a mix of excitement and nervousness. “You prepare for the unknown. That’s what makes live TV exciting. There are certain things that happen that you can’t anticipate,” Platt says.
Broderick takes comfort in a friendly barb from Martin Short, who appeared in NBC’s Hairspray Live! last year, about forgetting dialogue.
“Martin asked me, ‘What date do you go blank on television?’ ” he says. “I hope it doesn’t happen, but I guess that’s part of the fun of it for an audience, to see people work their way through these things.”