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• A Christmas Story, The Musical

The Bob Clark film A Christmas Story has in its 35 years entered into the yuletide pantheon of movies that everyone knows, whether by viewing it or just sheer cultural osmosis. It serves as a nice holiday companion piece to another Bob Clark work, the proto-slasher film Black Christmas. I like to watch them back to back for peak emotional whiplash. Anyway, the more wholesome A Christmas Story, based on the delightful Jean Shepherd novel In God We Trust: All Other Pay Cash has been turned into a musical that's being put on by the good people at the Ferndale Repertory Theatre. Catch the matinee today at 2 p.m. and see firsthand what evil comes from coveting a Red Ryder Air Rifle, among other delights ($10-$18 based on age and academic status).