by Jeff Clark, Staff Writer
BILOXI (GG) — The Christmas season on the Mississippi Gulf Coast means a lot of different things to many people: gumbo at Mary Mahoney’s, Christmas photos at The Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans, Christmas in The Pass, and the holiday spectacular by Rand Productions at the Beau Rivage.
Rand Productions has been entertaining Beau Rivage guests and Mississippi Gulf Coast residents for years with shows such as “Christmas on Ice,” Christmas in the Air,” and the musical version of “Elf.”
For the 2025 Christmas season, Jeb Rand and his team are bringing one of the most beloved Christmas movies to the Beau as “A Christmas Story: The Musical” opens Friday at 7 p.m.
Based on the popular 1983 movie, which was 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. performances based on the 1966 book “In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash” by Jean Shepherd, “A Christmas Story: The Musical” is set in the 1940s in the fictional town of Hohman, Indiana, and it follows 9-year-old Ralphie Parker and his quest for the Holy Grail of Christmas gifts—an Official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot Range Model air rifle.
The show opens Dec. 12 with 7 p.m. shows Dec. 12, 16-17, and 25, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. performances Dec 13 – 14, 18 – 21, 23 – 24, 26 – 27.
Tickets start at $25 and are available at Ticketmaster.com. VIP experiences are available for an additional $39.95.
“Coming off the success of ‘Elf,’ we were looking for another quality family entertainment to bring to the Beau Rivage,” Rand said. “It was kind of a no-brainer to acquire the rights to ‘A Christmas Story.’ It was quite easy to get the clearance for it. You can’t turn on a TV during Christmas time without seeing this movie playing, sometimes even 24 hours a day on TBS. There are also a lot of kid roles in it, and I wanted to do something with more kids in it. We have 12 professional kids in the show, and we have a few locals who will be making their debut.”
Rand has always created “magic” during his Beau Rivage productions, including making it “snow” in the theater, creating an ice rink for “Christmas on Ice,” and having a real car on stage for the production of “Grease.” He said he is very excited about the human components of “A Christmas Story: The Musical.”
“I honestly think the kids are going to steal the show,” Rand said. “I can’t wait for the audience to see the kids in this show and how incredible they are. I just look forward to people coming and having a good time. I’m really looking forward to watching families have a good time together.”
(Photo submitted by Beau Rivage)
