Odds & Ends: You Could Be Ralphie Parker in TV's Live A Christmas Story Musical, MAD Magazine Is Getting the Stage Treatment & More

Here's a quick roundup of stories you may have missed today.

You Could Be A Christmas Story's Ralphie Parker!
Fox is holding a nationwide casting call for the central role of youngster Ralphie Parker in the live TV version of the Tony-nommed musical A Christmas Story. The casting call describes Ralphie as a bright, but not precocious, nine-year-old boy whose only dream is to get a Red Ryder Range Model Carbine Action BB Gun for Christmas. The lucky kid playing the role will get to sing the musical's hit tunes by Dear Evan Hansen Tony winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Oh, and comedy genius Maya Rudolph will play your mom. Auditions for the role are open now through August 29. Submissions will be accepted online. The live three-hour production is set to air on December 17 at 7:00pm EST.

Nicole Parker, Lauren Pritchard & More to Take Part in Developmental Lab of The MAD Show
A new musical based on MAD Magazine will get a developmental production from Colorado's Theatre Aspen. The show will be featured in presentations at the Wheeler Opera House from September 12-16. The MAD Show will feature music by T.J. Shanoff and a book created by a team of writers led by Rich Talarico. The comedy collaboration will star Broadway veterans Nicole Parker and Lauren Pritchard along with Craig Cackowski, David Pompeii, Martin Garcia and Paloma Nuñez. MAD Magazine satirizes politics, celebrities, sports and more.

Will Roland & More to Sing the Tunes of Drew Gasparini in Concert
Dear Evan Hansen player Will Roland and Tony nominee Alex Brightman are among the talented group set to perform the music and lyrics of Drew Gasparini in a concert at Feinstein's/54 Below on September 11 at 9:30pm. Gasparini's concerts have a well-earned reputation for serving up an epic party celebrating the intersection between theater and pop. This new concert, entitled Let's Drink to That: The Music & Lyrics of Drew Gasparini, will feature Gasparini offering up autobiographical songs he’s been writing over the past year. Joining Roland and Brightman will be Waitress standout Jeremy Morse, with Brandon J. Ellis, Andrew Kober, F. Michael Haynie, Keith White, Aneesh Sheth, Elizabeth Ann Berg, Kasie Gasparini, Chloe Gasparini and Melissa Rose Hirsch.

Siobhan Dillon & More to Offer The Song and Dance of Broadway to Audiences in Tokyo
Siobhan Dillon, whose Betty Schaeffer won our hearts in Broadway's recent Sunset Boulevard revival, will collaborate with Bandstand Associate Choreographer Mark Stuart on The Song and Dance of Broadway, a revue honoring musical and dance genres from some of the most beloved musicals of the last 50 years, including Fosse, Sweet Charity, Smokey Joe’s Café, The Wiz and Wicked. The show will take place at the Tokyu Theatre Orb in Tokyo from October 7-9. Joining the silver-voiced Dillon will be Eric Kunzte, Willemijn Verkaik and Earl Carpenter.