On Sunday, Dec. 17, Fox airs a live musical version of “A Christmas Story,” based on the classic 1983 film that runs in marathon form every Christmas season on TBS, which also became a 2012 Broadway musical.
Based on the stories of Midwestern humorist Jean Shepherd and set in the 1940s, it follows a 9-year-old boy named Ralphie (originally played by Peter Billingsley) who goes on various holiday-themed adventures, on a quest to get a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle (it shoots BBs).
His parents don’t want him to have it, because …
Eleven-year-old Andy Walken of Seattle beat out over 350 other applicants for the role of Ralphie. Walken joins previously announced cast members Maya Rudolph, who plays Ralphie’s mother, and 
Matthew Broderick, as the narrator.
From Variety:
Marc Platt, who previously produced “Grease: Live” for the network, is attached to serve as executive producer. Also executive producing is Adam Siegal, with Jonathan Tolins and Robert Cary serving as co-executive producers and writers. Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who worked with Platt on “La La Land” and also scored “A Christmas Story: The Musical,” will compose “several new songs” (music and lyrics) for this live television event.
Fox’s live version of “A Christmas Story” will be produced by Warner Horizon Unscripted Television & Alternative Television, and this adaptation will be filmed for television on the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank, Calif.
And just in case you want to watch the original “A Christmas Story,” it once again runs all Christmas Eve and Christmas Day on TBS.
Here’s to hoping Fox doesn’t see any reason to “spice up” this family-friendly holiday classic!
Images: Courtesy Fox
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