As the young lead character in A Christmas Story counts down the days until Christmas, so too have the actors in an upcoming production of the musical been counting down the days until opening night.
Now, suddenly, it’s here.
Align Entertainment’s production of A Christmas Story: The Musical, is onstage Nov. 2 to 17 at the Michael J. Fox Theatre in Burnaby.
“To think that Thursday is November already is kind of mind-boggling for all of us,” laughs Brennan Cuff, the New Westminster performer who’s playing the Old Man in the musical.
Cuff plays onstage dad to Ralphie, played by young star Owen Scott, and his little brother Randy, played by Georgiy Rhatushnyak.
The story will be familiar to many viewers from the 1983 film A Christmas Story (which itself was inspired by the semi-fictional tales in Jean Shepherd’s 1966 book In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash). As with the film, the musical adaptation enters the world of Ralphie, a young dreamer in 1940s America who wants nothing more for Christmas than the ultimate gift: the official BB gun of the heroic cowboy Red Ryder.
For Cuff, the musical is a reminder of the innocence of childhood.
“You’re not worried about rent payments or mortgage payments, you’re not worried about job security or an ailing parent,” he says. “When you’re nine years old and you’ve got this Christmas gift you want, your whole being is wrapped up in that. That’s the main crux of the story, it’s that innocent child’s desire, getting that prize, and his whole being is focused on ‘How do I get that prize?’
“That’s a common thing amongst many people.”
Yes, Cuff says, there are adult themes too: a mom’s desire to provide a warm and loving home, a teacher’s desire to get the best out of her students, a mall Santa’s desire to pay the bills, a dad’s desire to be respected among his peers.
“Wrap that around dancing leg lamps and tinsel curtains and kick lines, and it’s got something for everybody,” Cuff says.
Cuff is no stranger to the Align Entertainment stage, having been cast as Gomez Addams in the company’s second ever production, The Addams Family in 2015.
He says the company offers something special on the local theatre scene, in providing opportunities for a number of professional, Equity-card-carrying actors (including him) to appear onstage alongside community performers. This year’s production has drawn back some familiar names from past shows, including Stefanie Stanley as Mother, but also has a host of new performers.
Cuff loves the fact that he’s hearing from other cast members that they’ve returned to the stage for the first time in a decade or more to be part of this outing. He notes Align has developed a reputation for the environment it creates for the cast.
“They really seek to create that sort of equal, warm, welcoming environment for theatre performers,” Cuff says.
Moreover, Cuff says, there’s something particularly special about acting in a musical where half the cast members are under 15 years old.
“These kids are electric. These kids dance, these kids sing, these kids act,” he says. And what’s more, he adds, they really understand the comedy that’s at the heart of the show. “Comedy requires timing – these kids have that in spades.”
He notes the show itself is extremely complex, with large set pieces and quick changes – a moment where a house has to disappear and a school appear in an instant; another where kids have to go from classroom to cocktail party in the blink of an eye.
“They make it happen, and they take it with grace and ease,” he says. “It’s remarkable to watch these professionals of the future kind of blossom.”
Though Cuff has had periods of his life where he worked solely as a performer, he no longer does – in his other life, he owns and runs a chain of hair salons and barber shops.
That’s a choice he and his wife made about a decade ago, when he found his life meant he was flying across the country for shows in Charlottetown, Edmonton, Winnipeg.
“I was somewhat nomadic, then all of a sudden I was married and I had a condo and a cat, and my wife’s career was very firmly fixed in Vancouver, being part of the film world,” Cuff explains.
Finding a job as a receptionist at a hair salon that was willing to give him time off for shows was his in to the world of hair; he worked his way up to apprentice, then manager, then to opening his own shops.
Add in a young daughter, who’s now two years old, and his need to balance his time is all the more pressing.
“I’m 50 per cent an actor, 50 per cent a barber, and 50 per cent a dad,” Cuff says. “It’s 150 per cent of life.”
For the lead-up to the show and its run – he’s needed at the theatre for nine days in a row right now - Cuff’s mother has flown in from Saskatchewan to look after his daughter, and a couple of aunts and uncles in the Lower Mainland have been “instrumental and glorious” on the child-care front in freeing him up for the show.
Now Cuff is hoping good crowds will turn out to enjoy what’s destined to be an entertaining night at the theatre.
“What’s awesome about this show is the pop culture cult classic movie gets you in the door, but good musical theatre writing keeps you there,” he says. “This is a Broadway show just like any Broadway show, in that it has tap dancing, it’s got raucous numbers with tap lines, it’s got sweet, honest, tear-jerking performances, it’s got comedy, it’s got tension. It’s got all the makings of a great show.”
CHECK IT OUT
What: A Christmas Story: The Musical, presented by Align Entertainment
When: Nov. 2 to 17, with preview Nov. 2 and opening night Nov. 3.
Where: Michael J. Fox Theatre, 7373 MacPherson Ave., Burnaby
Tickets: Regular $29 to $42, with special preview pricing $20 and Thrifty Thursdays $25. See www.alignentertainment.ca/tickets or www.vtixonline.com.
Info: www.alignentertainment.ca.
