‘A Christmas Story’ gifts San Francisco with its presence

If you want cute, talented kids combined with catchy tunes, abundant nostalgia and canine guest stars you can look beyond “Annie.”

Based on the much-loved 1983 movie, “A Christmas Story” has been coast to coast (with a 2012 stint on Broadway) for the last five years and made its overdue San Francisco debut Wednesday night at the Orpheum Theatre as part of the SHN season.

Part of the original “Christmas Story” charm was having original author Jean Shepherd serve as the homespun narrator of stories from his childhood growing up in northern Indiana circa 1940.

The primary plot involves Shepherd’s childhood stand-in, Ralphie Parker (Myles Moore on opening night alternating performances with Dylan Boyd), dreaming of the perfect gift: a Red Ryder carbine-action BB gun.

Other episodes involve Ralphie’s dad (a marvelous Christopher Swan, part Jackie Gleason, part Paul Lynde) winning a “major award” in the shape of a now-famous leg lamp and a very funny scene involving a department store Santa, a slide and a horde of greedy children.

“A Major Award” makes the best use imaginable of the leg lamp by turning it into very funny chorus line.

[...] “You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out” becomes a kids-as-gangsters number that features some flashy tap dancing (especially by fleet-footed young Seth Judice).

Susannah Jones is sweet and smart as Ralphie’s mom; and Joshua Turchin is memorable as his finicky little brother, but the show’s scene stealers are Stella and Hoss, the barking hounds who play the dad-chasing dogs from next door.

[...] by show’s end, when the cast is singing the title song, it’s almost impossible to resist its evocation of hearth, home and Chinese restaurant.