Critic’s notebook: ‘A Christmas Story’ delights in Selma, and an original musical charms at Fresno Pacific

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As the curtain opened and revealed the set, intricately created to resemble the “A Christmas Story” home, it looked so realistic that I was surprised.

Christine Honoré, who played Raphie, was an absolute star, and I was wowed by their performance right away.

And let me not fail to mention the storyteller, Jean Shepherd (Adam Chavez), portrayed as adult Ralphie reminiscing back on his childhood. He did an outstanding job. I especially loved the moments where he and young Ralphie actually connected, fighting through the plows for the BB gun together.

As a dancer for about 15 years now, I’ve grown to understand the arts. I may not have been fully submerged in the musical theater lifestyle, but I know a thing or two about it.

I can respect the fact that for the production, the Selma Arts Center was bringing in artists of different ages and background experience and I understand that it’s not always easy to get a cast that’s unfamiliar with each other to work in sync.

Not only were the cast’s voices in tune with each other and their songs were sung beautifully, I could feel the energy.

Some parents of the actors that I talked to agreed.

“It’s really amazing, every aspect of the show is just five stars. The acting, the lighting, the songs and even the costumes are just amazing,” said Kaela Joaquin, mom of Juliet Chavez. Chavez played the role of Flick in the show.

The child actors showed immense talent. However, talent doesn’t mean perfection. One glitch I saw at the performance I attended was someone picking up a piece of a costume that fell off. My dance teacher taught me not to do that.

However, I do have to give props to the cast that when I saw other minor mishaps like a costume change not making it in time or a small bump into another actor. They didn’t make it known to the audience, which was really professional.

Alyssa Schneider portrayed Miss Shields, and, man, does she know how to put on a show!

While sitting in the audience and watching her perform, specifically in the moments that were a little more dance heavy, I couldn’t help but wonder to myself if she had prior dance experience. Not that the other cast members she was dancing next too weren’t great as well, but something about Schneider caught my eye.

Turns out, not only has she been dancing on and off since she was 5, but grew up in the musical theater realm as her mom was a musical theater performer. However, she didn’t begin pursuing the musical theater style until later in her life.

“I had to relearn how to tap, and it’s been really fun,” Schneider said. “It’s been really fun working with all the kiddos.”

Big bonus points for the tap mention. As a tap dancer, I understand that it’s not the most popular style of dance, and some could even argue that it is a dying style.

When I saw Miss Shields and one of the other characters break out in a tap dance, I sat taller in my seat. I loved it.

I also talked to Honoré, the standout as Ralphie. They grew up singing, but merely around the house, in the shower, etc. However, they always had a love for the arts and musical theater and decided to eventually take voice lessons.

Their vocal teacher mentioned the Selma Arts Center to them and they have really enjoyed being cast in various shows and the preparation process for Ralphie.

“I’d say a lot of watching my little brother’s behavior, and also watching the movie on repeat,” Honoré said. “Kind of just unlocking a different inner child that I have and expressing that kind of whimsy and joy a 9-year-old boy has. Ralphie’s ambition is something I had when I was younger…it’s a lot of just looking inside and projecting your own experience.”

Overall, I really enjoyed the performance. Being from Fowler, just 10 minutes away from Selma, dancing in Selma at The Dancing School of Selma and growing up dancing in the Selma Arts Center for the Nutcracker, this spot in the valley is really special to me.

I am happy to see such successful performances come out of it — and just might have to see “A Christmas Story: The Musical” a second time!

‘In Color’

Finished its run on Nov. 9 at the Elizabeth V. Lyles Theater at Fresno Pacific University

In Color” was exactly what the title says; colorful, hopeful and encouraging. It painted the audience with a picture that love and forgiveness can heal even the darkest and most colorless scars.

The show was about a young couple, Stephan and Amy, pursuing their dreams of a successful life for them and their daughter, Cassie, on the way. As life throws a curveball at them and everything seems to have fallen to shambles, issues of drug abuse and domestic violence are revealed.

Cassie grows up to face trials due to her past. As she is determined to heal and find peace and forgiveness, she is met with her own fair share of life’s curveballs. However, this not only makes her stronger, but leads her to relearn what love is, find forgiveness in the midst of it and serve as the bridge that connects her family once again.

This original musical was created by Joy Ndombeson, who directed it and wrote the book, music and lyrics.

The production was a collaboration of Ndombeson Productions, Near Far Theatre and venue partner Fresno Pacific University. The show premiered in FPU’s Lyles Theater in the Warkentine Culture and Arts Center.

Julia Reimer worked the show nights as a production manager and represented Near Far Theatre in the collaboration. The theater’s mission is the exploration of what brings people together and breaks them apart, and themes of communication, understanding and celebration.

“We have been coming alongside Joy’s project and it’s just been a delight to work on this collaborative project to bring it to the stage for the first time,” Reimer said.

I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when I first walked into the theater, ready to see what the show would bring. I had prior knowledge of the major themes being love, forgiveness and healing. There would be scenes representing drug abuse and domestic violence; all real topics of life, but I wondered how it would be turned into a cohesive musical.

Ndombeson did it.

“Incredibly powerful, profound, gripping,” said tony sanders (who does not capitalize his name), artistic director of Shine! Theatre.

Our time. Remember those words.

When I spoke to an audience member prior to the show, she had a touching perspective to share about her hopes for the show and what it means for Fresno.

“I’m most excited because my understanding of ‘In Color’ is really a story of love, hope, grief and loss,” said Coreen Campos with Coreen Campos and Associates, a consulting firm for nonprofit organizations and schools. Campos’ background is in community work.

“Community art is so mission-critical for Fresno and storytelling is everything in our community, especially in 2025 when there are so many misunderstandings about people, culture, grief, families, love and loss, so I’m just really grateful to be here,” she said.

It started off with a Fresno-based football team, fighting feelings of negativity and division after coming off a big loss. They quickly realized nothing good was coming of this. This was their time, and nothing but themselves could change this.

“Our time,” they chanted in unison as their spirits rose and so did the spirits of the audience watching this scene unfold.

Stephan and Amy were played by Joy Ndombeson and Heidi Hodges. They were a young couple awaiting the arrival of their baby girl and were set and determined to create a beautiful life for themselves as Stephan’s football contract was just inches away from being his. So close, yet so far. They pondered over the thoughts of “our time.”

However, as Stephan faced a career-ending injury, a train of life-changing, world-ending, colorless events is set in motion. Stephan spirals into a life of pain-medication drug abuse, leading his behaviors to change drastically, both toward his wife and towards his daughter, Cassie, played by Trinity Mikel.

What happened to this being their time? Stephan was missing his daughter growing up and left the woman he fell in love with years ago for a plastic bottle filled with tragedy. Amy had to remind Cassie when she asked how she could help her father that “the best way we can help people is to help them remember who they are when they forget.”

At this point in the show, the cast created a beautiful scene in having an older version of Cassie come and visit her younger self. The emotion, the love, the connection, the relationship — it seemed so real to be able to watch. I really have to give it to the four main actors at this point. They didn’t hold anything back.

The passion was powerful and radiated through the auditorium. Even if we knew the scene was just acting, you couldn’t help but question it, due to their grit and dedication to the performance.

As Stephan slowly crawled out of his family’s life and Amy and Cassie had to carry on, growing without him, Cassie blossomed into a young woman. She was reunited with her grandparents, who she spent 13 years not knowing because of past trauma between them and Amy.

Cassie grew up with her best friends by her side, slowly working through her aches of life, but never truly healed from the childhood trauma her father instilled into their family.

We got to intermission and all of the audience members are just grinning from ear to ear, not necessarily happy about what the main character Cassie is going through, but because of the beautiful execution of the cast and their immense skill of storytelling.

I met a woman, Natalie Norcross, who had only been living in Fresno for a few weeks and recently moved from Cleveland, Ohio. “I just love musicals…I was looking online to see what was going on and I was like ‘Oh, an original musical, we’ll go to that,’” she said.

Back in the performance, as Cassie made it to 21 and was finally ready to get rid of her horrors and enjoy ‘her time,’ this trauma unfortunately catches her face-to-face as a man assaults her at a local bar, reminding her of nothing but her father.

Long story short, she and the sweet bartender that kicked out the jerk and returned Cassie’s purse to her that she left behind, fall in love. It was really sweet to watch, not only because I am a lover of love, but because it seemed real.

These actors and actresses played their roles like they had bills to pay; and I mean that in the best way possible. They gave every word spoken and every song sang their absolute entire heart and I could feel it 10 rows away from the stage.

This is what art is about, storytelling.

“Being a part of an original show and stepping into this role, it was a little difficult being like, ‘OK which part is Trinity and which part is Cassie?’” Mikel said after the performance. “But I think because of the writing, I was able to really dive into some of her insecurities that I really brought to the forefront… just allow yourself to feel everything that you’ve gone through and really dive into this message of forgiveness.”

She shared that she was able to develop a personal relationship with the storyline as her biological grandmother endured some of the same things her show mother did.

sanders, previously mentioned, has worked with Ndombeson on choreographing different pieces for Shine! Theatre. Due to that connection, sanders has been a supporter of “In Color” since its beginning stages and believes that Ndombeson’s work with the musical is not finished yet.

“The dynamics of the family and the generational trauma that is portrayed, that’s going to resonate with me for a while,” sanders said.

Ndombeson had been working on this show for approximately 10 years, but the genesis of the story began back in his home country of Congo, which was briefly referenced in the show demonstrating themes of unity and color.

Ndombeson was offered a musical scholarship to come all the way from Congo to Fresno, specifically Fresno Pacific. Here, as a music major, his original idea of “In Color” was expanded further than just a simple play he desired.

“It expanded my horizon as far as how I could tell a story, on top of the lines and dialogues, being able to add components like music and dancing to enhance the story,” he said.

About three years ago, after patiently venturing and experimenting, he was able to create a draft of a musical. He held a preview of the first act for a private audience, took his feedback and critiques and developed what he had into a fully conceived musical.

“The whole story we basically follow three generations of the same family dealing with life and then figuring out how to be a family on the other side of that,” Ndombeson said.

He learned all of the core skills and composition techniques from Fresno Pacific when he was a student. He was feeling fortunate to now have the Warkentine Arts Center to host his show in because when he was a student, it wasn’t even a thing.

“Just to be able to come back here and have this show play, it’s just such a surreal moment because most of the tools that I used to create this musical, I got them here,” Ndombeson said.

Ndombeson has further hopes and aspirations for his directing career, but for now, “In Color” has not quite been taken off the shelf.

It’s almost like this was the very first chapter.