Today we're talking about the afterlife of characters from classic Christmas stories. What happened, in later years, to Ralphie from "A Christmas Story" or Susan Walker from "Miracle of 34th Street" or Charlie Brown or Clara from "The Nutcracker?"
A lot of these stories are movies, and THAT might give us a chance to talk about the improbable expansion of what we consider a Christmas story.
Once upon a time, a Christmas movie was something like "Holiday Inn" in which the song "White Christmas" appeared and the subsequent movie "White Christmas," in which Danny Kaye proved the best thing happen while you're dancing. Christmas is the backdrop for "Meet John Doe" and "The Apartment," and -- of course -- "The Bishop's Wife."
But in recent years, Christmas is also the back drop for action comedies like "Home Alone" and "The Ref" and action action movies like "Die Hard" and "The Long Kiss Goodnight."
On this show, actors and playwrights talk about the characters and classics that shape our holidays.
GUESTS:
- Jacques Lamarre is a playwright of, among others, I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti and Born Fat. He is also the Director of Communications & Special Projects at the Mark Twain House & Museum.
- John Cariani is an actor and playwright who wrote All Grown Up in Christmas on the Rocks, as well as the critically-acclaimed, Almost Maine.
- Harry Bouvy is a stage, film, television, and voice over actor
- Ronn Carroll is an actor who plays the bartender in Christmas On The Rocks, and oversees each scene. He’s had a long career in television and theater.
- Bill Raymond is an actor who plays Ebenezer Scrooge in annual production of A Christmas Carol at Hartford Stage.
Leave your holiday stories in the comment section below, email Colin@wnpr.org, or tweet @wnprcolin.
