Prior to last weekend I had never seen A Christmas Story.

The film has been received well since it came out in 1983. At the time I was four and can be forgiven to have not seen the film.

As the years passed I became familiar with the face of the lead character, Ralphie Parker, as well as the concept of the show.

Boy wants gone, mom says no because “you’ll shoot your eye out,” kid gets gun for Christmas and predictably, he gets hurt.

With so little to the plot of the show I wrote it off, and never bothered to watch it.

Flash forward to Rosebud Theatre last Friday and I broke that record, taking in the show, along with the kids.

I’m actually glad that I waited to see the show in live form. I’m sure the movie is great, but the Rosebud cast and crew brought the movie alive in a way that can’t be replicated on film.

From Silas Winters as Randy letting everyone know he “has to go wee,” to Holly Langmead’s Esther Jane Alberry with her crush on Ralphie, to Aaron Krogmans older Ralph, narrating the show, the play was a delight from start to finish.

My kids have rarely sat through a full play, as they tend to go late into the night and no matter how good the show is they ultimately fall asleep.

This time however was different. Despite the length of the play, the kids were enthralled from start to finish.

The audience was as well, getting engrossed in the show, feeling the plight of the father’s desire for turkey dinner, the angst of Esthers crush, the pain of Flicks “bad arm,” and of course …  the taste of the soap Ralphie was forced to endure when his mother washed his mouth out for swearing.

It was an excellent show for the family to enjoy, with a great meal to add the cherry on the top.

A Christmas Story runs in Rosebud every Wednesday and Thursday afternoon until Dec. 19, and Fridays and Saturdays in the evenings with some afternoon shows, with a special Dec. 22 showing as well.

Originally posted on hannaherald.com.