Tennessee Repertory Theatre’s A Christmas Story works by celebrating the beloved film tale in a uniquely theatrical way.

Yes, the moments we know from the 1983 motion picture are there: Flick getting his tongue stuck on the telephone pole, The Old Man fighting the furnace and fending off the Bumpus hounds, Ralph’s campaign for a Red Ryder BB gun and, of course, the pink bunny suit.

But there are other moments added by stage adapter Phillip Grecian from the writings of Jean Shepherd that were the basis for A Christmas Story on film. I don’t want to spoil all the fun, but a schoolgirl crush, a ballet and a python hilariously figure in some of the additional material.

Director Rene D. Copeland’s effective staging, which includes interaction between actors and audience, provides living moments that film can’t replicate. It’s give and take between actors and patrons instead of a merely reflexive experience for the audience.

Some professional companies doing the show this season have chosen to cast children to play 9-year-old Ralph, his brother Randy and their school chums. Young professionals are often charming and in some cases quite polished, but it’s rare to find a child actor with the tools an adult performer possesses. That’s why I’m glad Copeland cast some of the region’s best mature talent in those roles instead.

Leading the pack is Samuel Whited as Ralph. Whited has to handle the task of going back and forth from the narration provided by the adult version of his character to Ralph’s younger incarnation. he handles the transitions without a hitch and provides a solid anchor to the story’s rich veins of humor and heart.

Actors alternate roles

The rest of the cast performs multiple roles and acquits them well. Andrew Kanies is a riot as Randy, among other parts; Jamie Farmer plays Mother and one of Ralph’s classmates with a sweet, infectious sparkle; Shane Bridges manages to be both nasty bully Scut Farkus and a romantically inclined schoolgirl; and David Wilkerson as Flick and Eric D. Pasto-Crosby as Schwartz, among other roles, are delightful.