"A Christmas Story, the Musical" received three Tony nominations, including one for Best Musical. The work had its world premiere at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre in 2009.
Update, June 9: No Tony for "A Christmas Story." "Kinky Boots" won for best score and best musical (Cyndi Lauper wrote the music and lyrics). Dennis Kelly's stage adaptation of "Matilda the Musical" won best book.
The Rep's artistic director Eric Rosen staged the original production of "A Christmas Story, the Musical" in Kansas City. The musical is based on the popular 1983 movie and takes place in Indiana in 1940. Rosen also staged a 2010 production of "A Christmas Story: The Musical!" in Seattle.
In 2011, the musical traveled on a five-city holiday tour. It premiered on Broadway in November 2012. The Rep served as a producing partner of the Broadway production, directed by John Rando, at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater in New York. The final performance was on December 30.
In a release, Rosen stated, "When I announced in 2009 that the Rep would depart from its annual tradition of A Christmas Carol to do the special world premiere of A Christmas Story, The Musical most of our city thought I had lost my mind.
"A Christmas Story became the largest hit in Rep history, and then went on to capture the hearts of audiences across the country before landing on Broadway in 2012 for a record-breaking run."
Three shows with connections to the Rep have received New York productions. This doesn't include Eric Rosen's "Venice," an original musical he wrote with Matt Sax, which opens off-Broadway at the Public Theater in June.
The Tony Awards will be announced on Sunday, June 9.
