TCR Playbills A Christmas Story, The Musical Playbill | Page 4

A Note from the Director..

Another holiday season, another
holiday classic.

I love this movie! And when I heard
that there was a musical version of
it, I thought that it would be horrible.
I was wrong. All of the irreverence
and humor of the movie is intact. In
fact, much of Jean’s dialogue (the
voiceover in the movie) is lifted
directly from the movie...a good
thing because it is so well written.
And there is all the nostalgia and
sentiment from the movie too.
And all that nostalgia and sentiment
is what the holidays are about. To
me, anyway.
It’s about this time of year when I
recall being a kid and anxiously
awaiting Santa’s arrival, reveling
in the magic that he brought all the
way up to the moment he landed on
our roof. I remember the smells and
sounds of the holiday meals we’ve
had together as a family...sometimes
just immediate family, sometimes
extended family, and sometimes
adopted family. I remember how it
felt to get a gift that I had been
longing for, like a little kid miracle
most years, my parents doing an
amazing job of making my silly kid
dreams come true. I remember how
magical it felt to come down the
stairs and see the stockings on the
fireplace jammed with treats and

little gifts, and to quickly look over at
the plate of cookies and milk that my
brother and I had left Santa to see
that it had been eaten and drunk.
Magic!
I also remember with fondness and
a twinge of sadness how wonderful
it was to be a kid at Christmas time.
And I think of all the people I’ve
known and loved who made those
times as wonderful as they could
possibly be...some of them still with
me, others departed but living in my
memories. And I am so very grateful
for those times and those people
and the warmth and the magic.
That’s what the holidays are about, I
think. Celebrating all the good that
is in our lives, even when it isn’t
necessarily great. When the Parkers’
much-anticipated Christmas turkey
is devoured by the Bumpus hounds,
The Old Man salvages Christmas by
taking his family to a Chinese
restaurant for a non-traditional but
memorable and joyous dinner...
probably one of the best Parker
Christmases ever.
I’m not where I thought I would be
at this point in my life. It’s not better
or worse, just different than I had
imagined. I don’t have some of the
stuff that I’ve wanted for a long time.
I don’t have a ton of money. I can’t
buy everyone presents, and the