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Several with Theatre Institute at Sage Connections are in Playhouse Stage Company Show
“Christmas is one of the best times to be in a theatrical production,” said Russell Sage College Theatre Professor David Baecker. “You get to work in a close-knit community to entertain others and create a beautifully idealized Christmas that every audience wants to experience. I’m having a wonderful time.”
Baecker is talking about his role in Playhouse Stage Company’s production of A Christmas Story: The Musical at Cohoes Music Hall, December 4-22.
He plays Jean Shepherd, the adult voice who narrates the classic story of a memorable Christmas for the Parker family, and 9-year-old Ralphie Parker’s wish for a Red Ryder BB Gun.
Baecker said the role appeals to him as a 52-year-old remembering childhood Christmases. “The benefit of time helps you to see your parents as people and understand the sacrifices they made for a special Christmas, even under challenging circumstances,” he said.
He’s also drawn to the role’s distinctive relationships with other characters and the audience. (In the film version of A Christmas Story, the narrator is a voice; in the musical, the Jean Shepherd character is present on stage.)
“I live in the world of a play onstage while the rest of the actors sing and dance in a musical. It’s a strange role as observer, and while I interact a bit with the other characters, my main connection is to the audience.”
The role is meaningful to Baecker for other reasons, too.
He is performing with his former student Nick Martiniano, who plays Ralphie’s father. Martiniano is an attorney who earned a bachelor’s in Musical Theatre at Russell Sage in 2014.
“Nick is a great professional with a fantastic voice that has only gotten better since his time at Sage. It’s gratifying to watch him mentor young actors in the cast and share his wealth of knowledge,” Baecker said, acknowledging that reuniting with a former student who is now playing father roles is in line with the nostalgia that characterizes A Christmas Story. “Time marches on.”
Jack Holick is a local sixth-grader who plays Ralphie. ”I spend a lot of time mirroring him, and I watch for gestures or attitudes that I can copy, so that the audience will believe we are the same character, some 40 years apart,” said Baecker of Holick, who has also acted with the Theatre Institute at Sage. “Jack carries a great deal of the show on his young shoulders and has been treated like a professional capable of doing so. He’s a remarkable kid.”
“This show has really been a great Christmas gift to me,” continued Baecker. “I’m grateful to be working with a company that, like the Theatre Institute at Sage, trains young people in the arts, with solid professional company members who mentor as well as act, sing, dance. There is a lot of talent and experience on stage.”