A Christmas Story

In March 2017 Pasek and Paul shared an Oscar with Justin Hurwitz for best original song in La La Land. 
In June 2017 Pasek and Paul won a Tony Award for Best Score for Dear Evan Hansen. 
In December 2017 Pasek and Paul received critical pans for the television broadcast of A Christmas Story: The Musical and the film The Greatest Showman. 

What do these shows have in common? What's different?

Anti-heroes: All four feature protagonists who behave badly. I sympathized with the unstable Evan but couldn't stand the narcissistic jerks in La La Land. Ralphie's youth excuses his obsessions while Showman ignores the unsavory side of P.T. Barnum.

The score: La La and Evan use a modern pop sound in a modern setting. Christmas Story goes "classic Broadway" for the 1940's setting. The Greatest Showman put's the anachronistic modern sound in an 1880's setting... It worked for Moulin Rouge but critics didn't like it here.

The performers: La La Land's movie stars were not skilled singers or dancers. For some that was the point. Their dreams were bigger than their reality. For others it was an ugly Hollywood compromise that sunk the film. Evan, Showman and Christmas Story feature a mix of Broadway vets and new up-n'-comers. Some argued this did not fit the working class families of Christmas Story. The television special dialed up the disconnect with Jane Krakowski's sexy school teacher and Chris Diamantopoulos's smoking hot daddy.

Target Audience: La La Land features 20-somethings and Evan Hansen features teens. They have resonated with audiences inside those groups and beyond. Who is the audience for The Greatest Showman? They hedge their bets by surrounding the middle aged Jackman with younger co-stars. Will Zac Efron and Zendaya draw a family audience over the holiday weekend? Christmas Story aims for the family audience but pits itself against their feelings for the original film. Love the original? You can enjoy the musical on stage but there's no reason for a TV remake. Hate the original? Still no reason for the remake.

Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny

RifTrax gave this laughably bad low budget children's film a new life and brought attention to the creepiness of the sweaty Santa Claus and the creepy animal costumes. A comic really can't do it justice. Check out this clip.

Once On This Island

Promises, Promises, The Fantasticks and Once on this Island fall into the category of romances with pretty songs and ugly stories. Ti Moune's story is told with such glee that it's easy to forget it's a tragedy. The Gods attempts to grant her wishes are comically inept and the gentleman she wants is a garbage person. They are less Romeo and Juliet than Jason and Medea. Still "Mama Will Provide" is a fabulous song.

Gee I really should have saved this series till Valentine's Day. I'll get to Christmas shows eventually.

The Fantasticks

Two innocents go on a journey, suffer and return home sadder but wiser. It works for me in Candide and Into the Woods. So why don't I care for the world's longest running musical? I think it's the lack of self-awareness. I find the father's plot so unpleasant and the lovers so ill-suited to each other that their sincere act two duet rings as hollow as the satirical act one duet. The original production charmed audiences for 42 years so I've had to accept I'm simply not the target audience. I haven't experienced the things the show feels nostalgic for. I can not remember so I can not follow.

Still, it did give us Jerry Orbach.