A Christmas Story, The Musical Launches from Chicago

Chicago is to be in the center of a new, nationally touring production of “A Christmas Story, The Musical,” a relatively new show (and wholly new production) based on the much-loved 1983 holiday movie, that was in turn based on the writings of Jean Shepherd.

Among its iconic scenes: Christmas lunch in a Chinese restaurant, a flagpole that traps tongues and the meanest Santa that Northwest Indiana ever saw. Events in “A Christmas Story” take place in and around Hohman, Ind., a fictional stand-in for Shepherd’s hometown of Hammond. Peter Billingsley, who played the central character of Ralphie in the movie, is one of the producers.

After runs in Hershey, Penn. (Nov. 8–13); Detroit, Mich. (Nov. 15 – 27); Raleigh, N.C. (Nov. 29 – Dec. 4) and Tampa, Fla. (Dec. 6-11), the seasonal tour will conclude at the Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St., with a run Dec. 14-30. (Unusually for such projects, Broadway in Chicago is not involved.)

Warren Carlyle, who directed the recent, highly acclaimed Broadway revival of “Finian’s Rainbow” has signed on as director. The show will audition in Chicago in June and rehearse in the city this fall. Walt Spangler (“Desire Under the Elms” at the Goodman Theatre and on Broadway) is the designer.

“A Christmas Story, The Musical” features a score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and a book by Joseph Robinette. The cast will feature 27 Equity actors and 16 live musicians.

“We decided that Chicago would be a great place to kick this off,” said producer Gerald Goehring, noting that the budget for the show will be around $5 million.

Earlier versions of the show have been seen in Seattle and Kansas City, but Carlyle is newly attached and Goehring said that the material has been tweaked and fixed.

“Now we’re ready to give it to the country,” Goehring said, “and we’re using Chicago as a place to do it.”

Holiday Health, Fitness & Nutrition Launches at MMC

My Merry Christmas.com, the Internet’s longest ongoing celebration of Christmas, announced today that it has launched a new discussion area in it’s popular Merry Forums dedicated to Holiday Health, Fitness and Nutrition.

“Food as a part of Christmas is often glamorize with things like cookies or visions of sugar plums,” noted Jeff Westover, founder of My Merry Christmas. “But we have long had a contingent of folks who want to explore healthier alternatives in diet and exercise during the holiday season. We think it is high time we give them the space they need to talk about it. More and more people are dedicating themselves to healthier living and we think that should include Christmas-time.”

The new section of My Merry Christmas will focus on holiday-emphasized recipes, ideas, eating plans, exercise routines and weight loss journals. The area will also showcase new content generated at My Merry Christmas dedicated to Christmas foods, to be launched later this year.

“We still offer information, history, recipes and shared resources for traditional Christmas fare,” Westover noted. “We are expanding our offering to include alternative festive foods and healthy living for those who can’t partake in traditional offerings.”

The new section can be accessed at this link.

Southwest Opens Reservations for Holiday Travel

Southwest Airlines extended reservations this morning for flights through Jan. 6, opening up the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holiday periods with a chance at purchasing tickets at the lowest fares.

Most other airlines have longer periods over which flights can be booked – usually up to 330 days in advance – so holiday reservations on those carriers have been open for some time.

The trend: continued expensive airfares. This summer, fares will be at least 15 percent higher than a year ago, although some last-minute deals appear available on certain flights.

It appears some fares for peak travel time have been declining on certain flights in recent weeks, but changing reservations on most airlines except Southwest comes with stiff fees.