(In which your author finally ends this series about how he found himself involved in local theatre. To recap, his sons started acting in local shows, which led good ol’ Dad to helping with sound, then producing, then acting, and finally directing.)
The auditions for "A Christmas Story" (in 2001) were amazingly easy. If someone had looked at every kid in the Tri-state area, I doubt they could have found a group of young actors more perfectly suited to their parts.
Chuck Herndon was perfect in the lead role of Ralphie, the boy who wants a BB Gun for Christmas. It’s a tough role to play because the young actor spends a lot of the play complaining and scheming, but the audience must always be sympathetic to him. Chuck did a fantastic job in the part (and he was the first lead to memorize his lines).
As his friends, Flick and Schwartz, Clint Wilson and Taylor Miller made a great team. Flick is the comic relief - he’s the one who gets his tongue stuck to a flagpole, and he’s always getting roughed up by the bully - Clint was perfect for the part - his comic timing was (and still is) excellent. Schwartz is the anchor of the group - dry and very funny, and Taylor nailed it perfectly.
Ralphie’s little brother Randy was played by Shawn Crews, and he was terrific - he played the role of the quirky (but very funny) little brother, and nailed it.
One pivotal role is that of the bully, Scut Farkas, and to fill the part we cast a young man who was the exact opposite of the character. Andrew LaCara is not at all menacing in real life, but I knew he could act out the role to perfection, and still wring every last laugh out of it - and he did.
For the role of Miss Shields (the teacher) we cast Ingrid Olson, one of only two young actors to play the part of an adult. She did a great job balancing the stern disciplinarian with the sillier fantasy roles the teacher plays (at one point she doubles as the Wicked Witch of the West).
The other young actor who played the part of an adult was Michael Moore, who doubled as both the wicked Black Bart and a neighbor who admires the legendary leg lamp.
As the "love interest" for Ralphie we had Esther Jane, sweetly played by the talented Sarah Hayes in one of her earliest roles. Her best friend is Helen, played by Anna Fahrman, a talented actor who was great as the incredibly smart but equally tough friend who looks out for Esther Jane.
Robyn Welch and Kelsey Bellamy were great as the grouchy elves. Filling out the roles of the classmates (and assorted extras) were Owen Reyolds, Hailey Bellamy, Sarah Bledsoe, Sara Crews, Hanna Elliot, Kaytlin Hall, Zack Spaulding and Ellen Weed.
So the cast was assembled, and six weeks of rehearsals began in the friendly confines of the First United Methodist Church. But where were we going to stage the show?
For a "small" show - which is to say, a non-musical with a cast of about 25 actors - "A Christmas Story" has a big set. (And kudos to Jack Welch and Jerry Morse who built the huge set together, with some help from assorted parents.) You have to re-create the home of the family, with a kitchen, living room and Ralphie’s bedroom, you need a classroom and Santa’s throne (with a slide, of course). We’d need a big stage to handle that - and were amazed when we were offered the best stage in the city.
Lang Reynolds, the dean of Marshall University’s Department of Theatre, gave us an early Christmas present - he offered to let us use the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center to stage our show at a very reasonable price. I was stunned - the only time First Stage had been at that facility was when we were part of the production of "Oliver" with Marshall (we provided the kids - they did everything else). It was an incredibly generous gesture and we didn’t hesitate to take them up on their offer.
And not only were we allowed to use their stage, they also provided the tech crew. James Morris-Smith, Deb Carder-Deem and Kevin Bannon were amazingly generous as they trained our young tech crew and allowed them to operate their state-of-the-art equipment. It was an invaluable experience for our young tech crew, which included stage manager Emily Asbury, Peter LaCara on lights, Evan Minsker on sound effects, Griffin McElroy on props, and stage crew Laura LaCara, Nicole Gray and Rachel Bailey (apologies to anyone I'm forgetting to include). I’ll always be grateful to everyone at Marshall for their generosity and kindness to our cast and crew. It was an amazing experience.
And that’s the funny thing about theatre - sometimes the breaks all go your way and you end up with a great show and an unforgettable experience. That’s exactly how it was with "A Christmas Story" - the show went off virtually without a hitch, the cast was amazing, the audiences appreciative, and it actually made money for First Stage - it was a great experience and really rewarding.
I should also mention that it would never have happened without tons of help from the First Stage board members and the family and friends of our actors - not to mention the producing team of Clint McElroy, Jerry Morse, Tom Hastie and Bev Miller, who saved my neck many times over.
It was the first show that was really "mine." I was hooked - and I’ve been involved with local theatre groups ever since.
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