It is difficult to argue with Richard Marsh when he declares "Die Hard" the greatest Christmas movie of all time. Marsh honored his favourite film by creating "Yippee Ki Yay," a one-man show that pays tribute to the movie.

Mr. Marsh brought this show to the Broadway Playhouse at Chicago's Water Tower Place, where I saw it Saturday night.

In this performance, Marsh alternates between two stories. One story recreates "Die Hard," in which New York City police detective John McClane travels to Los Angeles to reconcile with his estranged wife Holly but ends up battling a group of murderous terrorists led by the evil Hans Gruber. Marsh's telling is sometimes serious and sometimes tongue-in-cheek but always told with affection. Periodically, Marsh steps out of the "Die Hard" story to relate his relationship with his wife, whom he met on a Reddit forum dedicated to the 1988 movie. The couple bonded over the Bruce Willis film, fell in love, married, had two kids, and worked through relationship issues.

Richard Marsh is charming and funny, as are the stories he tells. He outputs both tales almost entirely in rhyme.

He moves from character to character, emulating and/or parodying voices and actions. He is hilarious playing Karl, the vengeful assassin played by long-haired ballet dancer Alexander Gudunov in the movie.

Although no one else joined Marsh on stage, he incorporated lighting, sounds, and simple props to advance the story. A tiny watering can stood in for the indoor waterfall at the company party, and a teddy bear served as McClane's gift to his wife and as a stand-in for the villains during hand-to-hand combat. The lighting and sound effects coordinated perfectly with the actor/poet's words and actions, adding mood to his storytelling.

If you are a fan of the movie that made Bruce Willis an action star, I highly recommend this show.