Dare to Double Dog Dare. Join Ralphie on his desperate quest to ensure that the most perfect gift of all time ends up under his tree on Christmas morning.

Key City Public Theatre Presents “A Christmas Story”, Holiday Humor For The Whole Family.

Ralphie Parker is on a quest for the Christmas gift of his dreams: a Red Ryder 200-Shot Carbine Action Range Model Air Rifle. Before acquiring the near-mythical object, though, he first must convince everyone from his mother to a department store Santa that he won’t live up to their chorus of worries, “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid!” This Christmas, you are invited to enjoy a new spin on a classic holiday tradition as Port Townsend’s Key City Public Theatre offers up a humor-filled rendition of everyone’s favorite holiday film, A Christmas Story. Written by Jean Shepherd and adapted for the stage by playwright Philip Grecian in 1990, A Christmas Story has been performed hundreds of times to the delight of audiences across the country.

Marcy Girt, recently seen in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” directs this nostalgic look at growing up in small town Indiana in the late 1940’s. The play features Duncan Frost (Complete Works of Wm Shakespeare: Abridged) as the adult Ralph Parker, who narrates the story, and Hunter Heim as nine-year-old Ralphie. “To children, the world still seems big and mysterious,” said Duncan Frost. “As the details of events fade away, we remember them more fondly and imagine them to be grander than perhaps they were. I enjoy the opportunity to be the audience’s rose-colored glasses.” The cast of eleven children and five adults also includes KCPT veteran Mark Valentine as the “Old Man”, newcomer Hanna Lose-Frahn as Mother, Amy Dahlberg (Cinderella) as Miss Shields, and Trillium Burbank (TANSTAFFL) as Ralphie’s love interest Esther Jane.

Shepherd has a gift for spinning an epic tale from the mundane landscape of the American Midwest, where Christmas is an escape from the monotony of meatloaf and red cabbage for dinner. Ralphie’s dreams and schemes make for rich entertainment as he sends his parents subversive messages, writes a persuasive essay for his teacher, crafts a speech to convince Santa, and dives into a fantasy world where he rescues his family from bandits, all in the hope of finding his beloved Red Ryder 200-Shot Carbine Action Range Model Air Rifle under the tree on Christmas morning. Swirling through Ralphie’s world like the Indiana snow are Ralphie’s father, with his blind determination to win a “major award”, the schoolyard bully, Scut Farkus, a Christmas turkey that refuses to live up to expectations, and, of course, Ralphie’s friend Flick, who accepts the famous flagpole “triple dog dare.”

Behind all of the holiday shenanigans and humor of A Christmas Story, there lies a deeper, more universal tale. “I think people love this story because it’s about celebrating abundance, being together as a family, and creating magical experiences,” said Girt. “It’s a reminder that we have the power to create a special day for the people that we love.” So bring the whole family to the stage version of this quintessential Christmas tradition that will have everyone laughing their way into the holiday season!

A Christmas Story runs Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at Key City Public Theatre from December 3rd — 20th. Thursday thru Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m.; Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m with additional matinees at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 12th and 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 19th. Tickets ($20 on Thursday/Sunday evenings and all matinees. $24 on Friday/Saturday evenings, $10 for students any performance) are available at keycitypublictheatre.org or at the playhouse box office, 419 Washington Street, Port Townsend, 360-385-KCPT. Check online schedule or inquire at box office about reduced price performances.