Great fun!
by C. David on 11/25/25Walnut Street Theatre - PhiladelphiaRating: 5 out of 5Great fun. Perfect for the holidays but really anytime. Solid performances. Highly recommend!

Theatre
Great fun. Perfect for the holidays but really anytime. Solid performances. Highly recommend!
This show was one of the best I've ever seen! So so funny and the musical numbers are incredible! The great classic Christmas movie we all know and love plus the bonus of wonderful singing and dancing! Go see this show... You'll love it!!!
A feel good musical that had you smiling from start to finish, excellent cast!!
We went to this show thinking that it would reflect the movie. They did take a majority of the "funny" or iconic scenes from the movie but it also seemed like they needed to "fill" time by adding in dancing acts. The lead who played the father was great and by far, the standout character. Reminded me a little like Ed Helms. The theater was very warm so it was really uncomfortable. The kids in the play did a fantastic job!
I bought tickets for myself and my adult son for a Christmas present because one of our dearest Christmas traditions is watching this movie. I did NOT expect the musical to be just like the movie, but there aren't enough words to express my disappointment. If Jean Shepherd were still alive, he would be so appalled. Let's start with the acting. The only one who was at all passable was the Old Man - he was actually quite enchanting. The woman who played Mom was terrible, so wooden and overblown. She could sing (amazing) but that was about all. Ralphie - well - he was absolutely terrible. Nasal singing, whiny voice, not at all compelling. The writing of this musical was even worse. Yes, they ported over some lines from the movie, but they totally missed the style that Jean Shepherd intended when he wrote this... And the ending...?? Oh my god. Beat us to death with the POINT. The charm of the movie original was that it didn't HAVE to beat you over the head with its POINT, because it made it subtly and sweetly. So disappointed. If I could demand my money back, I would.
great cast, great talent, and sooo much fun. will go again next year if in town.
We have been members of Walnut Street Theater for 10 years and this was one of the most disappointing shows we have seen in that time. We took our two high school exchange students and it was not enjoyable for them at all. The songs were poor, were too long and seemed geared more toward 6-10 year olds than any other age. I would suggest that Walnut Street keep this type of show for their children's series, except that some of the language made it inappropriate for this age as well. This one would have been better left undone.
An excellent performance and enjoyable show! I found myself smiling throughout the entire musical. Take your family!
A Christmas Story was an incredible production. We had a group of 8 ranging from age 70 down to age 11 - everyone loved it. We're big fans of the movie and were unsure what to expect - this was a fantastic show. A very talented bunch...a great way to celebrate the season with the family!
The show was fantastic. Very true to the movie. The narrator was great, the kids were adorable. Great singing. The only problem was the parking lot next to the theater, we were boxed in, they wouldn't let us out, we had our keys but couldn't get out. The attendant pushed my daughter when she was trying to get them to understand that we had our keys and had already paid. Very poor running of this parking lot. To have seen such a great show and then to have this awful experience in trying to get out of the lot damped the day. We will come back to the walnut street theater, we have seen several good shows there. But we will never park in that lot again.