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Ralphie Parker (played by Evan Lennon) with the infamous Red Ryder BB gun. |
Evan Lennon, who plays nine-year-old, BB-gun wanting
Ralphie Parker in our Theatre Company's production of
A Christmas Story is no stranger to the
stage. This is his fourth
production at the FAC (
All My Sons,
Joseph’s Amazing
Technicolor Dream Coat and
Gypsy) as well as a smattering of other
shows at his middle school and at Colorado College. We were able to catch up with
Lennon between rehearsals, and ask him a few questions.
Do you relate to
Ralphie?
A little bit because there’s always that one thing you want
for Christmas. For example, last year I really wanted an iPod for Christmas— really, REALLY bad. But Ralphie's all quiet, and I’m not quiet at all. So I’m not like
him in that way, but I’m like him in a lot of other ways. I focus on that one
thing [the way he focuses on the Red Ryder BB gun]. And I’m not disrespectful
to my parents. We’re similar in those ways.
Have you seen A
Christmas Story before?
It’s kind of a tradition for us to watch it every year so
it’s one of my favorite movies ever. It’s such a privilege to play this role.
How did you feel when
you found out you got the main role of Ralphie?
I was so excited when I heard that they were doing it here.
When I heard I got Ralphie, I freaked out! It was so awesome. And the day that
I figured out that I got it, I bought the script and I read it all.
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Ralphie Parker, played by Peter Billingsley in the film, and now by Evan Lennon for our stage production.
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What do you hope
people take away from your performance as Ralphie?
[My favorite holiday movie] is probably A Christmas Story.
But the hard part is when people come in here, they expect to see certain things
they see in the movie, so I want to give them those certain things, but I don’t
want to totally copy the movie. I don’t want to do the same exact thing so I
haven’t watched the movie so I’m just trying to be my own [Ralphie] in some
ways but give the exact same remark they want to see when they come in and see
this.
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Evan Lennon |
So what is your Red
Ryder BB Gun?
For this Christmas, I really want a remote controlled
airplane. One of those ones that goes like, 100 miles an hour!