• photo by Carol Rosegg
• Clarke Hallum with that obscure object of desire, in A CHRISTMAS STORY

Apparently there's some confusion about whose production of A CHRISTMAS STORY: THE MUSICAL is currently running in Raleigh Memorial Auditorium.

It's understandable enough. After all, this time last year, North Carolina Theatre and Hot Summer Nights collaborated with long-time Raleigh presenter Broadway Series South on a joint venture—a locally produced stage adaptation of Jean Shepherd's classic holiday tale, A Christmas Story. That gentle saga of triple dog dares, a table lamp resembling a leg in fishnet stockings on a stiletto heel—and, of course, a genuine Red Ryder carbine action BB gun—enchanted critics and audiences so much that a return engagement was virtually guaranteed.

A year has passed and, yes, the three companies have gotten together again—this time, to bring us the Shepherd yarn in a musical form.

But the production on stage this week in Raleigh Memorial Auditorium is actually a professional touring version of the show, one created by New York's Alchemy Production Group. The names of N.C. Theatre and Hot Summer Nights prominently appear on the playbill, publicity and the companies' websites ("Our next production," says NCTheatre.org—while the show’s cast page remains blank, and its gallery features photos from a 2009 production in Kansas City, with actors not appearing in this version).

In reality, though, aside from a handful of local musicians hired to round out the orchestra pit, no directors, designers or artists affiliated with either N.C. Theatre or Hot Summer Nights are connected with the show. They've just brought it here, and put their brands on it.

And since N.C. Theatre will shortly do this twice again, in January and February, when they co-host—and co-claim—professional touring productions of Green Day's American Idiot and Les Miserables, two significant questions are raised that aren’t going to go away when A Christmas Story's final curtain falls on Sunday.

• Curtis Brown Photography
• Little Shop of Horrors closes Sunday.

It’s rather odd how a retro-chic musical adapting a Roger Corman B-movie whose highlight is a giant man-eating plant puppet became a mainstay of musical theater. And yet, NC Theatre’s production Little Shop of Horrors proves the show remains as punchy and charming as ever, though “charming” is perhaps not the best phrase to describe a play where a key plot point involves dismemberment.

Lighter than the original 1960 film but darker than the 1986 adaptation with Rick Moranis (where the original, darker ending was completely cut along with $5 million of special effects you can find on YouTube), Shop still gets reliable laughs out of its tale of milquetoast flower shop assistant Seymour Krelborn (Raleigh native Noah Putterman), who enters into a Faustian relationship with the “strange and interesting” plant he’s named after his semi-requited crush, Audrey (Gina Milo).

Audrey II brings business to the shop, but only grows when it gets blood, which results in its developing a mind of its own, and a voice (Michael James Leslie, who recently voiced the plant on Broadway) that demands Seymour “feed me.”

Putterman and Milo are charming as the leads, and soar in the love duet “Suddenly Seymour,” but of course the real highlights are the various Audrey II puppets, manipulated by Parker Fitzgerald; they bring that combination of comedy and menace that defines the play.

In the rest of the cast, Rebecca Covington, Natalie Renee and Danielle K. Thomas are standouts of the Greek chorus of do-wop singers, while Broadway vet Stephen Berger doesn’t have enough to do as Mushnick and Evan Casey feels a little too cartoon-y in his roles as the sadistic dentist and everyone else (though he deserves credit for the elaborate rapid-fire costume changes he undergoes).

Little Shop of Horrors is a simple show whose catchy tunes and puppetry help what’s a pretty dark, depressing plot go down smoothly. Incidentally, the merchandise table at this production informs us that the Venus flytrap originates in Wilmington. You can buy one for your kids, too. Just be careful what you feed it.

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XANADU

Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

Jan. 28-31

For a film famously reviewed as "Xana-Don't," the ill-fated 1980 Olivia Newton-John/ Gene Kelly musical Xanadu lingers in the mind. True, it helped kill the movie musical, along with the careers of most people involved, but the color, spectacle and sheer wrongness of the whole venture gave it a certain cult appeal. And the Electric Light Orchestra songs weren't bad, either.

As one who has seen multiple big-screen revivals of Xanadu and even butchered the theme song on a few karaoke nights, it's a pleasure to report that the stage musical, which premiered on Broadway in 2007 and played through the snowy weekend in Raleigh's Memorial Auditorium, enraptured both those bored silly by the original movie and those who still recall with fondness its laser-riffic effects and nonsensical storyline.

Said storyline involves Sonny (Max Von Essen), a none-too-bright Venice Beach artist with a propensity for headbands and short-shorts, who finds a new inspiration in Kira (Elizabeth Stanley). Kira happens to be an actual muse-disguised as human with roller skates, leg warmers and a horrible Australian accent, and she encourages Sonny to pursue his dream of opening the ultimate center for the arts ... a roller disco. Complications ensue that involve Kira's jealous sisters (Natasha Yvette Williams and Annie Golden) and a wealthy developer (Larry Marshall).

The deliberate goofiness of Douglas Carter Beane's book includes a Greek chorus of muses, a love duet in a rolling phone booth, leg warmers as a plot point, a love song performed on a hovering Pegasus and a plethora of ELO songs, many of which Stanley delivers in an uncanny mimic of Newton-John mannerisms. The production calls attention to its own artificiality, with audience members seated on stage and a major character disappearing from the climax...because, it's pointed out, the actor is already on stage in another role.

More than just a genuinely amusing redo of a flop movie, though, Xanadu is a sly critique on the current state of Broadway musicals that's still accessible to those who've never set foot on the Great White Way. In an age where almost every show is either based on a movie or a collection of repurposed rock oldies, Xanadu uses its muse characters and the movie's infamous history to poke fun at the lack of originality on stage while reminding the audience that this is a stage musical based on a movie that uses old rock tunes for its soundtrack.

Perhaps there's still a dearth of original songs and stories on stage, but Xanadu gets plenty of laughs and energy out of what one character calls "the box known as juke." It's enough to almost make you want to buy some leg warmers at the gift shop afterward (yes, they're on sale). Perhaps I won't be the only one mutilating the theme at the karaoke bar. Xanaduuuu....Xaaaaaaaannnnnadduuuuuuuuuuuu....