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You'll Shoot Your Eye Out! THE CLASSIC HOLIDAY FILM A CHRISTMAS STORY IS REBORN AS A MUSICAL AT THE CITI PERFORMING ARTS CENTER. BY JARED BOWEN I mages of reindeer, carolers, and snow-blanketed rooftops are a given during the holiday season. Then there are Red Ryder BB guns, lamps shaped like legs, and tongues stuck to flagpoles. Those last contributions are courtesy of the offbeat 1983 film A Christmas Story. It premiered to lackluster success, but like It's a Wonderful Life long before it, the movie slowly gathered an audience through subsequent cable and video broadcasts. Now it's a beloved holiday touchstone. "It's nice being associated with something [audiences have] discovered," says Peter Billingsley, who starred in the film as Ralphie, a boy who just wants the aforementioned BB gun for Christmas, while his parents are trying to maintain their sanity during the frenzied holiday season. "There's a lot of love in the family, and they protect each other," Billingsley says. "Yeah, they're dysfunctional, but there's love at the core. That's a timeless theme." It's also a transferable one. The film received a musical makeover last year on Broadway, where PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAROL ROSEGG. OPPOSITE PAGE: JASON MERRITT/GETTY IMAGES (BILLINGSLEY) HOTTEST TICKET 76 BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM 076-077_BC_SC_HottesTicket_Holiday_13.indd 76 11/1/13 11:22 AM