Young Tacoma actor Liam Loughridge on a leading-role run, from Oliver to Ralphie

In “A Christmas Story,” what Ralphie Parker wants most of all is a Red Ryder BB gun. What Liam Loughridge likes is acting and singing onstage — and the 12-year-old Tacoma actor is seeing his young career take off, from last year’s “A Christmas Story” at 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle to this year’s version at Tacoma Little Theatre, with Tacoma Musical Playhouse’s “Oliver” in the middle.

And despite the fame, he’s still a great kid to be around, say his colleagues.

“I’m confident in my part (for opening night of ‘A Christmas Story,’)” says Liam during a rehearsal break at the theater. “But I’m pretty sure we’ll all do well.”

That’s the kind of non-self-centered statement that epitomizes Loughridge. The seventh-grader at Tacoma’s Visitation Catholic STEM Academy couldn’t be blamed if he fit the annoyingly precocious kid-actor stereotype: He’s been in about a dozen local plays, got cast as Schwartz (the lead’s best buddy) in last year’s “A Christmas Story — The Musical” at the 5th Avenue Theater, landed the lead in “Oliver” this fall and is now playing Ralphie in the non-musical version of “A Christmas Story,” the Tacoma Little Theatre’s main holiday show. He’s had newspaper and TV coverage.

But it’s evident at rehearsal that fame hasn’t changed him much. He’s always where he needs to be, knows his lines, waits patiently for set re-dos and director notes, and when the timing of a scene goes wrong he asks politely for a back-up line “in case something like that happens” at a performance.

While acting, he projects the same ineffable innocence as a young Daniel Radcliffe bringing Harry Potter to life. His Ralphie — the center of a childhood reminiscence story about Christmas in 1940s America, narrated by an adult Ralph (Blake York) — is dreamy-eyed, excelling in puzzled looks and wide-eyed astonishment, and endearingly naïve even while watching his friend get run off by the school bully or letting out a cuss word after fumbling his dad’s tire-change.

“Liam’s great to work with, kind and considerate,” says Jennifer York, who’s directing “A Christmas Story” and who found Liam through recommendations from TMP’s “Oliver” director. “He pulls off that innocence, but he’s strong enough and has the chops and experience to succeed in the role.”

“I was immediately impressed by how mature and talented he is,” commented Helene Minassian, a teen actor who played The Artful Dodger opposite Liam’s Oliver in the TMP production. “The way he easily reacts to scenes rather than just standing there and reciting lines already surpasses the skill level of many actors, young and old alike.”

“He’s very down to earth and serious about what he’s doing,” says Liam’s mom, Carol Loughridge, adding that if anything, all the roles have just made her son more outgoing. “He treats it like a job.”

As for Liam, he’s having a blast playing Ralphie, especially after his experiences as Schwartz in the musical last year. A passionate singer, this is his first non-musical play, and he’s learning a lot.

“Ralphie’s just a kid who wants only one present — the gun,” Liam explains. “To me, he’s gone off the deep end in how he goes about getting it. He’s just a little crazy in how he wants it.”

Another thing that sets Liam apart onstage is his total engagement with the character. Unlike the other kids in the cast, who are alternately awkward, self-conscious or hamming it up, Liam is self-possessed as the 9-year-old Ralphie: calmly tolerant of his annoying little brother Randy, awed by his dad and bemused by the girls at school.

“I never think of anything while I’m doing a character onstage,” says Liam, who’s had years of training in TMP camps and shows, as well as being youngest of four in a theatrical family. “At first I think specific things, but once it starts, I just go with it and get into the character.”

And back-to-back leading roles, with all those nighttime rehearsals and upcoming auditions for “Tom Sawyer” at ManeStage Sumner? Not a problem, says Liam, who fits in homework after school and still has time for hobbies like anime, drawing and playing video games.

“Doing local community theater is a lot easier on our schedules than 5th Avenue in Seattle, where they had rehearsals during the day,” says Carol Loughridge. “And fortunately Liam’s very quick in memorizing lines and songs.”

While Liam keeps a steady head about all the fame — “I’m in a play. It’s no big deal,” he told The News Tribune last year about his 5th Avenue role — he’d still love to make it big in theater.

“I’m going to have a career that will earn me money, but I also want to get to Broadway,” he says determinedly.

Meanwhile, setting Ralphie’s crafty BB-gun-for-Christmas plan going amid the beige-brown 1940s TLT set is enough right now for Liam Loughridge.

“My favorite parts of ‘A Christmas Story’ are the leg lamp and the bunny suit,” he explains. “I love theater because you can get away from your own life for a bit. It takes the stress off. I can do things I’d never do in real life, and no-one cares because it’s a play!”

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 6:15 PM with the headline "Young Tacoma actor Liam Loughridge on a leading-role run, from Oliver to Ralphie."