Scarborough Players’ production of A Christmas Story opens on Dec. 5

Scarborough Players are inviting the community to celebrate the holidays with Jean Shepherd’s classic tale, A Christmas Story.

Taking the stage at the Scarborough Village Theatre from Dec. 5 to 20, the play follows the story of Ralphie Parker and his Christmas quest for a Red Ryder BB gun.

Based on Shepherd’s memoir of growing up in the Midwest in the 1930s, A Christmas Story is filled with nostalgia, humour and heart, and is perfect for families wanting to immerse themselves in the holiday spirit!

Shepherd’s story was also told in the iconic holiday movie A Christmas Story in 1983.

Along with Ralphie’s attempts to secure the BB gun as a Christmas gift, the audience will also experience his adventures including tongues frozen onto lampposts, a meeting with a department store Santa and his father’s beloved leg lamp.

Award-winning director Sheila Gatensby feels her most important responsibility in presenting this production by Scarborough Players is to be the caretaker of this beloved tale that enchants with its nostalgia for a simpler time but also reflects the reality that some things don’t change.

“A Christmas Story is my favourite Christmas film! I was 16 years old when the film came out and there is so much I identified with when I first saw it and still do, every year when I watch it,” said Gatensby.

“We had the same radio in our house! I remember longing for an easy bake oven and being thrilled when it was under the tree on Christmas Day.”

She said Shepherd’s adult Ralph as narrator conveys a world view that embraces the foibles of his family and acknowledges them lovingly.

“Childhood is a time for rich imagination, but it’s harsh – there are bullies, and consequences,” said Gatensby.

“My approach as a director for this show is to be a loving caretaker for the story – deliver those precious moments as we have come to know them: the school room, the leg lamp and play Ralphie’s dreams with joyous melodrama, and capture that nightmarish department store scene with comic, absurd flair.”

Gatensby is returning to Scarborough Players taking a turn to comedy after her stunning, award-winning production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses in January of this year.

The talented cast for this Scarborough Players production includes veterans and newcomers.

Returning to the stage are Victoria Badham as Mother, last seen as Natalie in Lunenburg; Neil Kulin as the Old Man, last seen as the Ghost of Christmas Present in A Christmas Carol; and Valerie Courville as Miss Shields, most memorable as Annelle in Steel Magnolias.

Welcomed to the Scarborough Players stage for the first time will be Fred Kuhr who becomes the narrator as the adult Ralph Parker.

This production also welcomes an extraordinary young cast – William Baker as Ralphie; Finn Taylor as Randy; Adam Xie as Flick; Elijah Grote as Schwartz; Trent Murray as Scut Farkas; Sofia Flores as Esther Jane; and Avery Gouge as Helen Weathers.

A dedicated team is supporting the production including Mary Nowlan, producer; Ian Handscomb, master carpenter; Bodene and Dave Corbitt, sound designers; Jennifer Bakker, lighting designer; Mercedes Davy, fight director; Taylor Markwell and Mary Nowlan as costumers; and Eileen Dalton, props coordinator/creator.

Jamie Obregon has created the hair and make-up stylings from 1939 for this production.

Stage manager is Luisa Hoffman, with help from her assistant stage managers, Evan MacDonald and Aiden Oak.

A Christmas Story promises to get audiences into the holiday spirit from the moment the lights come up.

Scarborough Village Theatre is located at 3600 Kingston Rd., at Markham Road.

To order tickets for A Christmas Story, or for more information, please visit https://theatrescarborough.godaddysites.com/ or call 416-267-9292.

In the spirit of the season, Scarborough Players will collect food donations for The Deacon’s Cupboard Food Bank during the run of A Christmas Story and Scarborough Music Theatre’s Christmas Cabaret. Audiences are asked to bring non-perishable food, hygiene products, re-usable shopping bags and sealable bags.