(photos by Ghost Light Indy)

Tis the season … which used to pretty much mean production after production of “A Christmas Carol.”

It still means that, but now if you live in at least a medium-sized market you can probably count on at least a production or two of “Elf” and/or “A Christmas Story” as well. With all due respect to the national tour of “Elf” coming to Clowes Memorial Hall as part of the Broadway series and to the Indiana Repertory Theatre’s (and others’) adaptations of the Dickens classic, I usually only have the bandwidth for one holiday show per season. This time, it was Beef & Boards’ Dinner Theatre’s take on “A Christmas Story. Here are some thoughts.

— With relentless airings of the 1983 movie on TV, “A Christmas Story” is probably as familiar to recent generations as “The Wizard of Oz” was to mine. If you are a native Midwesterner — which I am not — I’ve found that the chance that you are passionate about the material dramatically increase. For me, the movie was okay but never ranked among my holiday favorites. Still, I could see the nostalgic appeal for some and how, its leg lamp, pole licking and bunny suit have become as iconic, if not moreso, as Zuzu’s pedals and Judy Garland’s merriment wish.

— If the above references mean nothing to you, my point is made.

— There are also elements that haven’t aged particularly well. The most obvious of these is the central plot motivator: a 9-year-old’s desire to have a gun. There’s also a fantasy involving a bomber in a school and a suggestion that the solution to bullying is beating a kid senseless (and said attack being deserving of barely a reprimand). And then there’s the whole Chinese restaurant “Fra-la-la-la-la” scene.

— While the creators of the musical version have wisely doctored the restaurant scene, they know full well that if you take away little Ralphie’s quest for the weapon, there would be little else for the story. So it embraces it and enhances it with the catchy “Red Ryder Action BB Gun” song.

— The songs are by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who first garnered musical theater fans’ attention with their score to off-Broadway’s “Dogfight” and, post-“Christmas Story,” took off with Broadway’s “Dear Evan Hansen” and filmdom’s “La La Land” and “The Greatest Showman.” They recently earned EGOT status after an Emmy win for their contribution to “Only Murders in the Building.”

— While the show maintains the looking-back voiceover narration of the film, what really ties it together is the score. It may have been an assignment to the young songwriter team, but they stepped up with a set

of songs that expound nicely on familiar moments of the film. The warning “You’ll shoot your eye out” becomes a “Bugsy Malone”-style song for Ralphie’s teacher and a talented tapping students. “Up on Santa’s Lap” captures Ralphie’s desperate effort to get Santa to buy into his gift desire. There’s even a leg lamp kick line. There’s also room for songs designed to put a tear in the eye of parents in the audience.

— On the performance I caught, the narration seemed to be a bit rushed, the kids did fine (I got a particular kick out of Oliver Barszcz as kid brother Randy), while nameless Mother and The Old Man balanced sincerity (she) with silliness (he). Audience got exactly what they paid for … tied up neatly in a bow of fun tunes.