Five Chicago kids made the cut for the tour of A Christmas Story, the Musical. Here is a bit of info on each of them
Age: 11
Hometown: River Forest
Role: Bully-toadie Grover Dill
Parents: Thomas and Heidi
School: Fifth-grader at Roosevelt Middle
School
Where you may have seen him: As Tiny Tim in “A
Christmas Carol” at Goodman Theatre
Favorite numbers: “Ralphie to the Rescue,” a
yee-haw number where the kids gallop on stick horses, and “When
You’re a Wimp.” As Grover Dill, “I do a bullying routine and throw
snowballs. We throw a paper towel wrapped in tape in
rehearsals.”
John Francis Babbo
Age: 11
Hometown: Wrigleyville, Chicago
Role: Ralphie’s classmate, Damsel in Distress
in “Ralphie to the Rescue”
Parents: Victor and Maria
School: Fifth-grader at Queen of Angels
Where you’ll see her: In the upcoming films
“One Small Hitch” (2011) and “Man of Steel” (2013)
On whether the kids steal the show in “ChristmasStory”: “We do a really good job. But the adults are
great.”
Sally Elting
Age: 11
Hometown: Naperville
Role: Ralphie’s classmate
Parents: Jim and Lilah
School: Sixth-grader at Covenant Classical
Where you may have seen him: As Winthrop in
“The Music Man” at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire
Favorite number: “When You’re a Wimp.” The
bullies “beat us up and everything, and we sing about how hard it
is to be a wimp. They’d better watch their backs when the wimps
attack!”
Johnny Rabe
Age: 11
Hometown: Frankfort
Role: Swing-“I have to learn all the girl
parts.”
Parents: Evan and Lynette
School: Fifth-grader at Chelsea Intermediate
School
Where you may have seen her: In a community
production of “Annie” at Lincoln-Way East High School
First impressions of the movie: “I wasn’t too
crazy about it. I didn’t understand it, get what it was about. Now
I know it’s about a kid who wants a BB gun and he has a huge
imagination.”
Kalya Rea
Age: 11
Hometown: Batavia
Role: Swing
Parents: Daron and Stacey
School: Fifth-grader at Grace McWayne
School
Where you may have seen him: As Charlie Bucket
in “Willy Wonka Jr.” at Steel Beam Children’s Theatre in St.
Charles
Has he ever pulled a Flick and licked aflagpole? “I’ve been dared but never did it.”
J.D. Rodriguez
