Dan Lauria to rejoin A Christmas Story
Dan Lauria will once again lead the cast of the Tony Awardnominated musical based on the film A Christmas Story when it tours the Northeast America in the winter of 2013.
Producers on Wednesday announced that The Wonder Years veteran will return to narrate the zaniness when the musical plays the Bushnell in Hartford, Connecticut, from November 12- 17, and the Wang Theatre in Boston from November 20December 8 and the Theater at Madison Square Garden from December 11- 29.
“I don’t know too many actors who can say, ‘ I’ve played the Garden.’ I’m excited about it,” said Lauria by phone last week from Los Angeles where he had just played a round of golf. “It’s like being back by popular demand. If you can’t take that as an honor, find another profession.”
He will be joined by three other returning cast members from the Broadway production: John Bolton as the “Old Man”, Erin Dilly as “Mother” and Caroline O’Connor as “Miss Shields”. “Ralphie” will be played by Jake Lukas, who has appeared on Broadway in Newsies. The show made its debut in Christmas 2012 on Broadway.
Like the film, the musical features a menacing school bully, an annoying kid brother, an eccentric father, a lace- stocking- clad leg lamp, a bright pink bunny suit and a kid who gets his tongue stuck to a frozen flagpole during a triple- dog- dare. It’s co- produced by the film’s original Ralphie, Peter Billingsley.
The show has more than a dozen catchy songs written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul — titles include Red Ryder Carbine Action BB Gun and A Major Award — and a book by Joseph Robinette. It was nominated for three Tony Awards, including best musical, best book and best original score.
In the show, Lauria plays Jean Shepherd, the radioTV personality whose semiautobiographical stories form the basis of A Christmas Story. He narrates the action and mostly stays on the outside of the action. “You know, I can’t sing a note,” he says with a laugh.
Lauria, who plays Jack Sullivan on the TBS sitcom Sullivan & Sons , made his Broadway debut in 2010 playing the ultrafocused and voluble football coach Vince Lombard in the play Lombardi. The transition is jarring for Lauria. “I went from Lombardi where I was The Man — I was the guy — to A Christmas Story where I am the least talented one there,” he said, laughing.
While he’s a newcomer to Broadway, the tour of A Christmas Story will represent Lauria’s 60th stage production. He’s a champion of new works and has performed them all over the country, looking with dismay at Broadway’s addiction to revivals. His motto is: “Dan does not do plays by old, dead white guys.”
One thing he’s most excited about is working with a fresh batch of talented kids. “They have no inhibitions. They’re the best actors,” he said. On Broadway, he got a big dressing room while the child actors were forced to double up in theirs, so he put in a coffee machine and made hot chocolate. “All the kids were hanging out in my room before the show and I’d tell them crazy stories. I’m looking forward to doing that again.”