For the first time since this musical debuted (in its present incarnation – see below) in 2010, the words and music of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (La La Land lyrics; Dear Evan Hansen) will be heard in Los Angeles. The show officially opens on December 8th at the Ahmanson Theatre where it will play through December 31st.

Carsten’s role of Jean Shepherd reflect the name of the man whose childhood stories informed the 1983 film about a boy in the 1940s whose one wish for Christmas was to receive a Red Ryder toy BB gun. Shepherd co-wrote the film and served as the off-screen narrator. For the musical Carsten is very much on stage. Lurking in corners of scenes. Watching from a far. Often center stage.

It’s a role Carsten has been playing off-an-on (due to the seasonal nature of the show itself and the pandemic) since 2014. That was the starting point for my conversation earlier this week with the actor.

What follows are excerpts from our conversation that have been edited for length and clarity. To see the full interview, please go to our YouTube channel.

Q: In Jean Shepard’s A Christmas Story, the book that inspired the beloved film, he wrote, “As the old truism goes, every man has his chance, and when yours comes, you would better grab it.” What do you remember most about your auditioning and casting process to become a part of the ensemble of this musical in 2014?

Carsten: I remember the competition. I was up against very talented gentlemen, Chris[topher] Swan and he eventually ended up getting the part. I had a pretty good working relationship with [Executive Producer] Dan Sher at that time, and we’ve known each other a long time. I figured they would find out some way to work me in. It was a fun process.

It was a little difficult because the original cast album of A Christmas Story is not what we do today. The material we were getting was different than what we’ve been rehearsing with and practicing by listening to the original cast album. But it was still a lot of fun. It was challenging, but a lot of fun. 

The character was off-camera in the film and now on stage in the musical. How do you approach Jean Shepherd?

I’ve always kind of patterned it after Jean Shepherd’s energy in the film because you never see him. But in the musical, you see the narrator throughout the entire stories weaving in and out of the sets. That’s a different dynamic than the film. So you have to go by his energy, which is wonderful and infectious. Not that I was trying to do an impression of Jean Shepherd, I certainly develop my own take, but zeroing in on that energy that he captured during the film is what I’ve tried to base my performance on.

How was your relationship to the show evolved since you first became a part of it?

Every incarnation that we put together is different. It’s the same material, but you’re bringing in different people almost every time. The kids are always going to be different because they grow and change – even though several years ago we brought in some of the same kids the next year because they still fit the physical requirements, they looked young enough. The people are going to be different and you’re going to get a different interpretation and a different response. That’s a wonderful, delightful challenge because it keeps your mind sharp. 

What do you think it is about this story that resonates with you personally and that also resonates with audiences? And I’m assuming they may not necessarily be the same thing.

A Christmas Story, when it first came out, to my understanding, it wasn’t that well-received by critics. I don’t think it was a startling commercial success, but over the years developed a loyal following with the marathons every Christmas and everybody watches it. I am certainly one of those people. There’s a uniqueness to this story that you don’t find that often in other Christmas stories. Here’s a slice of Americana and I think people identify with it on a large scale because people in this country, when they grew up as kids, they all had a special gift that they wanted and I think they can latch on to that.

One of the things that our director, Matt Lenz, says about his approach to the show is, yes, it’s stressful. You want to get all these things done. It’s Christmas time. Rush, rush, rush, rush. But [we] wouldn’t have it any other way. He constantly reminds all of us that that’s the joy we’re trying to latch on to. I think A Christmas Story captures that because there’s so much to be exasperated about: from the leg lamp to the kid sticking his tongue to the flagpole. All these crazy things going on and yet we wouldn’t have it any other way. 

As I’m sure you know, Pasek and Paul were not the original composers/lyricists for the musical. There was another composer who was on it when it had its world premiere. But a year later, Pasek and Paul had come in and the show debuted in Seattle in 2010. Given what you know as a performer about Pasek and Paul and their work, what do you think they do that’s so right with this show in terms of expressing it through their songs?

I’m not sure why it didn’t work out. But we find two extremely gifted artists in Pasek and Paul that found a way to bring the story to life. My own opinion is that when you watch the film of A Christmas Story, it almost seems like it’s tailor made to be made into a musical. When Ralphie goes into his daydreams there’s this different world that’s created. When I watch that, I say, Yes, you could make this into a musical – just find the right guys to put it to music, adapt it however you need to adapt it. This lends itself to a different kind of expression and that other expression is in the musical form. Pasek and Paul are extremely talented and they probably easily found ways to create and make this musical just soar. 

Their lyrics align easily with Jean Shepherd’s material. It feels like it has the same rhythm and cadence as Jean Shepherd did.

He had a great way with words. And I think if you’re going to attack a project like this, if you’re Pasek and Paul, you certainly have to pay attention to that rhythm. You certainly have to pay attention to the way he tells a story. His viewpoint is very interesting, unique and different. When you have that to go by, it can open up creative avenues.

I think they really paid attention to Jean Shepherd’s style, his vision and used that to help guide them along the way. As well as their own style and vision, of course, to make it their own and brought it to life. The results are they speak for themselves. It’s been a really fun ride.

It does feel like there is a certain nostalgia for a simpler time when all a kid wanted was a BB gun as opposed to these weapons of mass destruction that have been used on high school campuses and other places around the country. Do you feel like A Christmas Story reminds us of what life was like when it was simpler? When we didn’t have so many things that we could be angry about? That a boy’s desire for a BB gun was just because it was a BB gun and not because it was anything more than that?

It’s something that, even since 2014, you have to be delicate about. If you’re going to talk about a gun, you need to be clear that it’s a different connotation now than it was back then. You have to be sensitive about that. I think the powers that be, the artistic people, are making subtle, small changes to make sure that we’re not talking about a real gun. We’re talking about a child’s present – a toy gun. We want to make it clear that there’s a distinction, especially in the light of what’s been going on in this country. It’s important that we make that distinction because the story is so wonderful. We don’t want to lose that wholesomeness. We don’t want to lose that simplicity. 

On that recording you mentioned earlier in our conversation, and I don’t know if this is still the same way in the show, Jean says in the final scene about parents that it was “their job was to raise you. Your job was to listen.” He then reveals that the best part of the gift was that it was from his old man. How much does a line like that reflect both your own childhood and your role as a father of three daughters?

When we get down to that moment at the end of the show and we talk about how what that means to Jean Shepherd and what that means to Ralphie, I think it’s so well written that those emotions are there. They’re truthful, they’re real, they’re honest.

When I align it with my own life it becomes very special for me. I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with my father growing up because of the dynamics of my parents’ relationship. Even though my dad wasn’t around a lot, I still loved him deeply, truly and fully. The times I did get to spend with him are times that I treasure. But I also feel the same way about my mother. The parental relationship that we explore in this production is so wonderful. But when I get to that moment at the end, I’m contemplating my own life, my own relationship with my parents, the emotions that come to me. They’re always there.

I would assume it gets you thinking about what your own relationship is now that you’re in the father role.

Yes, absolutely. I’m hoping my kids, when they become adults, that they’re going to be able to look back on their lives and remember times when their father made a difference for them and their mom, too. I think most people, if not everyone, would really like to have a worldview that their parents influenced.

I tell people that are questioning becoming parents, if you become parents to children, it is your chance to leave a little bit of yourself. I’m a product of not only my parents, but their parents, their parents before them and before them and before them. It goes all the way back. Who we are today, there’s little pieces of all of that. Little pieces of all that that represents who we are through the eons of time that human beings have been around. 

To watch the full interview with Chris Carsten, please go here.

Main Photo: Chris Carsten in A Christmas Story, The Musical (Photo by Craig Schwartz Photography/Courtesy Center Theatre Group)

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TCM’s festival begins on Thursday, May 6th and will continue through May 9th. Films will be available for viewing on specific times and dates on TCM and others will be available on demand on HBO Max.

So here are my choices as the films most likely to scratch that theater itch amongst this year’s Classic Film Festival selections.

On TCM:

May 6th:

West Side Story opens the festival at 8:00 PM ET. TCM is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the film. Joining the showing of this 10-time Academy Award winner will be a newly filmed conversation with George Chakiris (“Bernardo”), Rita Moreno (“Anita”) and Russ Tamblyn (“Riff”).

May 7th:

Annie Get Your Gun is showing at 11:45 AM ET in a new 4K restoration. Betty Hutton stars as Annie Oakley and Howard Keel stars as Frank Butler in this film version of the Irving Berlin musical.

Wuthering Heights is showing at 2:00 PM ET. The film stars Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff and Merle Oberon as Cathy. The film opened on April 7, 1939. Twenty days later a play by Randolph Carter opened at the Longacre Theater in New York with Don Terry as Heathcliff and Edith Barrett as Catherine Ernshaw. The play closed after just 12 performances.

Grease 2 is showing at 11:00 PM ET. While the original film Grease grossed nearly 400 million dollars worldwide, this sequel (starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Maxwell Caulfield and Lorna Luft) only grossed 15 million dollars worldwide.

The Producers, the original Mel Brooks film from 1968, is showing at 1:15 AM ET (technically May 8th, but on TCM’s schedule as a May 7th showing – but that’s 10:15 PM PT). Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel stars as Leo Bloom and Max Bialystock.

May 8th:

Nichols and May: Take Two, a documentary about Mike Nichols and Elaine May is being shown at 11:45 AM ET.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? screens at 1:00 PM ET. Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, George Segal and Sandy Dennis star in this 1966 adaptation of Edward Albee’s play.

From Broadway to Hollywood, hosted by pianist Richard Glazier, screens at 3:00 AM ET. The show promises interviews, music and commentary.

May 9th:

Her Man, a film from 1930 with Helen Twelvetrees and X, is showing at 8:45 AM ET. The film is loosely based on the play Frankie and Johnnie, written by John M. Kirkland. The play opened in 1925 and ran for 61 performances.

The Goodbye Girl, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason, shows at 9:30 PM ET. The film served as the inspiration for the Marvin Hamlisch, Neil Simon and David Zippel musical from 1993. There will be a new interview with Dreyfuss as part of this program.

Fame screens at 11:45 PM ET. The film, which starred Debbie Allen, Irene Cara, Paul McCrane, Anne Meara, Barry Miller and others was directed by Alan Parker. It served as the inspiration for the 1998 musical (that only used the title song from the film). There will be a new interview with Allen as part of this program.

HBO MAX will also be showing the following films on demand:

Dogfight, the 1991 film by Nancy Savoca, starring River Phoenix and Lili Taylor. This film inspired by 2012 musical by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

MGM Musicals & Outtakes will show outtakes from It’s Always Fair Weather, Singin‘ in the Rain and Take Me Out to the Ball Game.

Once, the 2007 film by John Carney starring Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. This is the movie that inspired by 2012 Tony Award-winning musical.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest starring Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher. The film was inspired by Ken Kesey’s novel as was the 1963 play by Dale Wasserman which starred Kirk Douglas. The actor had long wanted to make a film, but was unable to do so. His son, Michael Douglas, produced the film being shown which went on to win Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay.

A Star Is Born from 1954 with Judy Garland and James Mason. Though it has never appeared on Broadway, there has long been talk of adapting this film for the stage. Most recently Bill Condon (who directed the film version of Dreamgirls and the Broadway revival of Side Show) was said to be involved with adapting the Bradley Cooper film for the stage.

Enjoy the movies!

Photo: Gene Wilder, Zero Mostel and Lee Meredith in The Producers (Photo by: Mary Evans/Ronald Grant/Everett Collection/Courtesy TCM Classic Film Festival 2021)

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For those of us who remember when we first heard of the show or first saw it, it seems inconceivable that it has been a quarter century since the show become a phenomenon and would go on to win the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

It also made stars out of Taye Diggs, Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel (in her Broadway debut), Adam Pascal (in his Broadway debut), Anthony Rapp and Daphne Rubin-Vega (in her Broadway debut). Rent ran for over 12 years on Broadway with a total of 5,123 performances.

To celebrate this silver anniversary, New York Theatre Workshop is holding a fundraiser called 25 Years of Rent: Measured In Love. The event will feature a reunion of numerous cast veterans from the many productions of the musical that have taken place.

Those scheduled to perform include: Gilles Chiasson (Steve and others on Broadway), Wilson Jermaine Heredia (originated the role of Angel/Tony Award), Rodney Hicks (Benny on Broadway), Christopher Jackson (Hamilton), Kristen Lee Kelly (Maureeen – Broadway), Tamika Lawrence (Mrs. Jefferson and others in the 2011 off-Broadway revival), Jesse L. Martin (originated the role of Tom Collins), Idina Menzel (originated the role of Maureen), Aiko Nakasone (Alexi Darling on Broadway), Eva Noblezada (Hadestown), Adam Pascal (originated the role of Roger), Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen), Billy Porter (Kinky Boots), Anthony Rapp (originated the role of Mark), Daphne Rubin-Vega (originated the role of Mimi), Ali Stroker (Oklahoma!), Tracie Thoms (Joanne on Broadway), Byron Utley (multiple roles on Broadway for the entire run), and Fredi Walker-Browne (Joanne on Broadway).

New songs from Joe Iconis (Be More Chill), The Lazours, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen) and Rona Siddiqui will also be performed.

Additional participants will include: Sebastian Arcelus (Roger on Broadway), Annaleigh Ashford (Maureen in an off-Broadway revival in 2011), Assistant Director Martha Banta, Adam Chanler-Berat (Mark in the 2011 off-Broadway revival), Linda Chapman, Nicholas Christopher (Collins in the 2011 off-Broadway revival), Set Designer Paul Clay, Wilson Cruz (Angel on Broadway), Brandon Victor Dixon (Hamilton), casting director Wendy Ettinger, producer Stephen Graham, director Michael Greif, Janet Harckham, playwright Jeremy O. Harris (Slave Play), Neil Patrick Harris (Mark on tour), Victoria Leacock Hoffman (producer of tick, tick…Boom!, Mariko Kojima, Julie Larson (the composer’s sister), Telly Leung (Angel at the Hollywood Bowl), Kamilah Marshall, producer Kevin McCollum, Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), Anaïs Mitchell (Hadestown), Shakina Nayfack (Difficult People), NYTW Artistic Director James C. Nicola, playwright Dael Orlandersmith (Until the Flood), Councilmember Carlina Rivera, Jai Rodriguez (Angel on Broadway), producer Jeffrey Seller, director Leigh Silverman (Grand Horizons), Ephraim Sykes (Benny in the 2011 off-Broadway revival), casting director Bernie Telsey, producer Jennifer Ashley Tepper, director Ivo van Hove (West Side Story revival), Tom Viola (Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS), Rent Music Supervisor Tim Weil, Rent Costume Designer Angela Wendt, Rent Choreographer Marlies Yearby and more.

My personal Rent memory surrounds my first time seeing the musical in New York on December 19, 1996. I was in New York with my friend, Matthew Barry. Like everyone I knew, I, too, was fascinated about seeing this musical that was the must-see show on everyone’s list. I didn’t know much about it beyond it depicted the lives of a group of people who lived in the East Village of New York. I also knew that it was inspired by Puccini’s opera, La Bohème. That was it.

Almost the entire original cast was performing that night. The only person out for that performance was Timothy Britten Parker (who played Gordon, the man, Mr. Grey and others). He was attending his sister’s opening night in Once Upon a Mattress (his sister is Sarah Jessica Parker).

By the end of the first act I was, along with majority of theatergoers, convinced that this was a special musical. Then the second act began with the company singing Seasons of Love.

They got to the bridge with the lyrics:

In truths that she learned
Or in times that she cried
In bridges he burned
Or the way that she died

My mother had passed away three months earlier. As you can imagine, I was a mess. All I could think about was mom. I’m sure there were people around me at the Nederlander Theatre who couldn’t understand what was going on with me. I was too caught up in my emotions to care. I somehow managed to pull myself together and enjoy the second act.

After the performance was over, Matt and I left the theatre and it was lightly snowing. It felt like a sign that everything was going to be just fine. Rent, with its own story of love and loss (both on stage and off) had offered one of many forms of catharsis I would rely on to get me through that first year after my mother’s death. To this very day whenever I hear any of Larson’s songs, I always think of my mother.

What are your personal memories and experiences of seeing Rent? Leave a comment on this post.

Tickets for 25 Years of Rent: Measure in Love are $25. The show will be available for streaming through March 6th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST.

Photo: The cast of Rent at New York Theatre Workshop (Photo by Joan Marcus)

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Written by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and Steven Levenson, Dear Evan Hansen tells the story of the title character (played in the national tour by Ben Levi Ross), who claims to have been the confidant of a fellow student in school who has died. Given how socially awkward Evan is, this comes as a surprise to some and a relief to the deceased student’s parents who hope to learn more about their son through Evan’s insights. The show was directed by Michael Greif.

Dear Evan Hansen is one of those rare shows whose use of technology and current social norms contributes to the show rather than feeling like artifice. This is a show very much about the world we live in. It also beautifully addresses the need to find your own place in the world. With songs like “Waving Through a Window, ” “You Will Be Found” and “For Forever,” Pasek & Paul have written songs that both beautifully fit into the story being told and will stand on their own apart from the show.

Pasek & Paul were the songwriters for The Greatest Showman and won an Oscar for their lyrics for La La Land. Having seen the show in New York, I can assure you this is one of the most emotional musicals ever put on stage.

And if you thought comparing this show to Hamilton in terms of being a phenomenon was crazy, apparently Lin-Manuel Miranda thought it was pretty powerful, too.

Dear Evan Hansen will play Segerstrom Hall in Costa Mesa  (January 1-13).

Fans of Pasek & Paul might be interested in attending a special evening with them at Segerstrom on January 7th. The event is a fundraiser for ASCAP, so tickets range from $189-$1000.

Photo by Matthew Murphy

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When I saw the movie in December, my first comment was that I know how good Justin Paul and Benj Pasek are as songwriters, but it was too bad that the music was so over-produced for the film I felt their work was lost.

In the music video, Ms. Bean is joined by dancer Travis Wall. The video is simple. And it is effective. Not only does the point of the song get across much better than it did in the film, it resonates with an emotionality that reflects Pasek & Paul at their best. (Just ask anyone who has seen Dear Evan Hansen.)

By the way, speaking of Dear Evan Hansen, if you haven’t seen the mash up of songs from that show and Hamilton performed by Ben Platt and Lin-Manuel Miranda here is another example of simplifying songs to reveal new shades of emotion that you might not have realized previously. This is called Found Tonight.

If you download This Is Me, every penny will go to the Los Angeles LGBTQ Center.

Proceeds from Found Tonight will go to the March for Our Lives Initiative.

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