SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Dec. 1, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — For many of us, the festive season just wouldn’t feel right without an annual viewing of the classic movie “A Christmas Story.” And now the stage version is set to bring the cheer at Salt Lake City’s Pioneer Theatre Company this December.
It’s Christmas time in 1940, and bespectacled 10-year-old Ralphie Parker desperately wants one very specific gift — but will Santa deliver? Join Ralphie, The Old Man, and the whole gang as they bring frozen flag poles, triple-dog-dares, MAJOR Awards, and pure holiday magic to life on stage.
Gephardt Daily recently had the pleasure of speaking to two of the stars of “A Christmas Story, The Musical,” the Tony-nominated musical adaptation based on the iconic 1983 film. The show plays Dec. 9 to Dec. 24 and is directed and choreographed by PTC Artistic Director Karen Azenberg.
We spoke with Danny Bernardy, making his PTC debut as The Old Man, and EJ Zimmerman, who returns to Pioneer after appearing in “Once,” and who is playing Miss Shields, Ralphie’s teacher.
Bernardy told us about his perception of the movie.
“I would say it’s now a classic, it used to be a cult classic, but now I would call it just simply an American classic, that provides a nice slice of Americana and nostalgia for the now adult population, is kind of how I think of it,” he said.
“Like it’s a little messy, it’s a portrayal of an imperfect family. So I think it’s very relatable; that’s part of why I think it’s so popular. Because it’s not just, you know, as our culture has changed and time has passed, we’ve become a little bit less of an innocent culture and a little bit more sarcastic. I think we tend to relate more to something like ‘A Christmas Story,’ which is wholesome.”
He added that the show is suitable for the whole family.
“I think that truly people of all ages will enjoy the show, because I really think the kids that come are going to love all of the songs and the silliness and the imagination scape, that exists within Ralphie’s imagination,” he said. “So it’s all from the perspective of the child, so his imagination can just go anywhere. So kids are really going to relate to seeing the world through his lens. And then I think the parents that come are going to really enjoy the nostalgia. And the like I said before, the sort of something that’s just classically American. And it just is this family that’s trying to make it work and trying to do their best.”
Zimmerman told us that she was familiar with the movie before being cast in the show.
“I would say I’m familiar with it of course, because I’m definitely of the generation of where the TV, like the cable TV is on and it plays 24 hours a day,” she said. “So it’s definitely a familiar thing to me and actually, it’s definitely kind of one of the more quotable things I think that my my own my dad would quote a lot.”
I also asked Zimmerman what she most identifies with and enjoys about her character, Miss Shields.
“We really only see I think Miss Shields through Ralphie’s eyes,” she said. “So it’s kind of funny, you see, the themes that are realistic that are happening in real time are, she seems so uptight and she’s very prim and proper, and she’s, everything has to kind of be the right way. And of course, that is a child’s perception of their teacher, right? That you kind of forget I think, I mean, as a kid, I definitely don’t think I ever considered that my teachers had any sort of life outside of what they did in the classroom.
“But because the musical is, there’s so many fantasy sequences, you know, Miss Shields gets to have a whole different experience. There’s almost like this little Western scene where she’s kind of a damsel in distress, and then there’s, of course, my big number, ‘You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out’ where it’s kind of like a speakeasy nightclub scene, where the girls are in flapper dresses and I’m singing a big cabaret number. So it’s kind of cool because you get to really break out of the mold of what you think of, of what of what Ralphie thinks of as his teacher.”
Zimmerman also spoke about the roles she’s had that have best prepared her for this show.
“I would say that what most prepared me for my big number in this is that I just played Sally Bowles in ‘Cabaret,’ it was just a quick two-performance but wonderful experience,” she said. “And, of course, it was a dream role and knowing that, then this number, her big number was going to be sort of speakeasy cabaret nightclub number, I was like, oh, great. This is gonna be kind of channeling that nightclub energy, you know, so that I think kind of prepared me for that big number. So it’s really interesting, because I feel like every character, like every single person on stage is like a main character. The kids are essentially bringing super main character energy to every line they have. Everyone has really strong personalities, and that’s partially because so much of it is through Ralphie’s fantasy land. You know, a lot of it is imagination coming up these wild ideas, and it’s really, really a fun show.”
Bernardy added, speaking about his character: “I would say because there’s a lot of stage time and because there’s a lot of endurance required in a musical, when I thought about the show and I looked at what’s required comically and stamina wise, I was looking at having done Henry Higgins in ‘My Fair Lady’ and a show called ‘Sheer Madness,'” he said. “Some of those leading roles have helped prepare me to take this on.”
I also asked Bernardy if he could give us a clue about how the iconic tongue sticking to the flagpole moment is achieved on stage.
“I saw it for the first time yesterday,” Bernardy said. “Not to give it all away, but there’s a suspension of disbelief; I would say there’s a touch of that and a touch of theatrical magic. There’s just some really good performances. It’s ultimately going to be very satisfying for the audience to watch that.”
I asked Zimmerman if it is as fun as it seems to do a Christmas show.
“It’s actually my first Christmas show so to be away from home on the holidays, you think, oh that’s going to be horrible, but you know our Thanksgiving at Karen’s (their director) was just like, wonderful. Like if I’m not going to be with my family, I get to be with my theater family, you know? And then we all came home and we decorated the tree in our lounge where we’re all staying so it’s really actually great to be able to get the spirit like through work.
“I mean there are so many kids on stage and most of my scenes, actually all of my scenes really are with the kids,” she added. “They are phenomenal. There’s just so much energy. They are really hard working and really talented. And it’s really cool to see all that energy and all that excitement. You know, through a kid’s perspective. I think I think post-pandemic too, theater spaces are really joyous anyway, just because we’re just so happy to be there, convening, you know, telling stories with each other in person for an audience, I can’t wait to get to that part too. But yeah, I think just the coming together and it is a big cast. And I mean, Christmas is always fun and this music is really catchy. And really, it just has a good Christmas spirit.”
I asked Zimmerman if she’s had time yet to enjoy any festive activities here in Utah.
“I would say I have what we refer to as the Princess track in the show, so I have a little more free time I would say than others and I’ve been loving Salt Lake City,” she said. “I think it’s like a really, for a New Yorker, it’s a really great place to visit because it’s easy to get around without a car, easy to walk, which I really appreciate. I definitely I popped into Temple Square yesterday, but I have to go at night when I can see all the lights.”
After the show closes on Christmas Eve, Zimmerman will fly home the next day, she said.
“I’m going to go home on Christmas morning, so I’m going to fly home to see my mom in Baltimore.” she said. “They gave us the option to fly out Christmas Eve in the evening. I figured that would be chaos and more stress than it was worth with the time change and everything, we’d be arriving so late. I was like you know what, let us enjoy, let me enjoy my night. Wait for Santa Claus, and then I’ll fly home in the morning. I should still get there for Christmas dinner.”
Bernardy said that after the show closes, he is going to head to see family in Montana and California. Then in the New Year, as Bernardy says, it’s “back to the grind.” “I work with a theatre company in Brooklyn called One Year Lease theatre company and we are in development of a few different projects. So we’re always generating stuff, but it’s back to the audition circuit,” he said.
Zimmerman said she hasn’t got any shows set up yet in the New Year yet.
“As far as the New Year goes, I’ll be in New York City, and that’s as much as I know,” she said. “I don’t have a gig lined up. But you never really know, in this business, when things will pop up and how they pop up. Even this particular show was not really on my radar until a few weeks before, so that it kind of fell into my lap as like a lovely Christmas gift as well.”
She added: “It was only probably three weeks or something before we were leaving, that I auditioned and got the job. So it was kind of like, oh, I wasn’t expecting to do a Christmas show this year. And then it was like oh, here’s a little gift from Santa, you can come back to Pioneer. And you know, I did ‘Once’ here in 2019. And it was like, I mean, ‘Once’ is one of my favorite shows ever. And I’ve done it several times since, but this was the first time that I got to do it and I kind of felt like Pioneer gave me a chance to do that show.
“And since then you know, I’ve been able to do it more times. So I really met wonderful people here at Pioneer and it just it’s a really great place to work, and I have such a good time doing that show. And I was just thrilled to have the opportunity to come back here.”
Tickets to the show are available here or by calling 801-581-6961.
