SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
It's December, and that means time to revive the annual holiday tradition of trying to decide whether "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie or not. Buffy Gorrilla meets a theater group in Philadelphia who believe their performance will end the debate once and for all.
(CROSSTALK)
BUFFY GORRILLA, BYLINE: People are gathering at Philadelphia's iconic Trestle Inn. Some are shaking off umbrellas while others order drinks. Lindsay Martin (ph) came to watch Theatre Contra's "Die Hard - A Very Merry Live Reading." Before 2018, it's possible Martin wouldn't even have been part of this group.
LINDSAY MARTIN: My mom's favorite Christmas movie is "White Christmas," and my dad's favorite Christmas movie is "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation."
GORRILLA: Growing up watching these traditional titles, Martin says she hesitated when her then-boyfriend, now husband, suggested adding "Die Hard" to their holiday movie lineup.
MARTIN: I initially was very skeptical, in part because I'd never seen the movie before, and I had absolutely no idea that it was held at a Christmas party.
GORRILLA: When people think of "Die Hard," the holiday setting might not be the first thing that comes to mind. What stays with audiences is a 1988 Bruce Willis quipping his way through an action-packed two hours and 12 minutes.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DIE HARD")
BRUCE WILLIS: (As John McClane) Move to the coast. We'll get together, have a few laughs. (Imitating buzzer sound). Sorry, Hans, wrong guess.
GORRILLA: Hans Gruber is the uber-villain. He's played to quirky perfection by the late Alan Rickman.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DIE HARD")
ALAN RICKMAN: (As Hans Gruber) Now I have a machine gun. Ho. Ho. Ho.
(CROSSTALK)
GORRILLA: Ian Peezick (ph) settles onto a stool with a drink.
IAN PEEZICK: Yeah. To me, it's like the - it's about family. It takes place on Christmas. I think that's all you need to check that box.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Hello everybody.
GORRILLA: Standing in front of an enthusiastic audience, actors from Theatre Contra transform into their characters. McClane and Gruber, the spicy estranged wife, the cool limo driver, the Twinkie-eating cop, the skeevy coworker and all the terrorists.
(CHEERING)
GORRILLA: Director Adam Howard energetically delivers stage direction to set the scene and advance the plot.
ADAM HOWARD: Cut to the 30th floor, as the party continues. "Ode to Joy" is still playing on the violin.
(SOUNDBITE OF VIOLIN PLAYING)
HOWARD: The elevator opens, and Hans and his machine-gun-wielding men creep out.
(SOUNDBITE OF YELLING)
GORRILLA: Frank Jimenez embodies John McClane head to curled toes, dressed in a white tank and comically large rubber feet. The live show pays homage to the movie's memorable lines.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DIE HARD")
WILLIS: (As John McClane) Yippee-ki-yay (ph), [expletive].
GORRILLA: By intermission, Lindsay Martin, the one who grew up with "White Christmas," has space in her holiday movie queue for "Die Hard."
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: Like, all I knew was the action components of it and didn't know the Christmas party, the music, the role that that kind of played in the whole story. So I'm on board with it as a Christmas movie.
GORRILLA: So whatever side of the debate you land on this season, yippee-ki-yay, and happy holidays.
For NPR News, I'm Buffy Gorrilla in Philadelphia. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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