Some stories have a message that is evergreen, so to speak — especially when it comes to Christmas specials.

That’s certainly true of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” a story that first came to television in stop-motion, animated form in 1964.

“It’s all about accepting people and their differences and realizing that those differences are what make humanity great — or deer humanity, should I say?” actor Natalie Holt MacDonald said. “That’s really what makes Christmas so magical. It’s a wonderful season of giving and acceptance and love for everyone.”

MacDonald plays the white-tailed, red-nosed star of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical,” coming at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to The Palace Theatre in Greensburg.

Audiences will find a faithful adaptation of the original, she said, following the fortunes of the young deer, shunned by his peers for his glowing, red proboscis. In the company of Hermey, the elf who wants to be a dentist, he leaves his herd, Santa and the North Pole to find acceptance elsewhere.

Perils — and a cast of other misfit characters — await, but eventually Rudolph returns home, where his glowing red nose saves the day by guiding Santa’s sleigh through a Christmas Eve snowstorm.

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“I love to tell this story and spread this Christmas magic,” MacDonald said. “What’s amazing is that adult audiences enjoy it just as much as the kids do. The grandparents remember it from when they were young and so do the parents.

“And then the kids come in and see it with fresh eyes, so it’s wonderful for everyone,” she said.

Iconic role

MacDonald grew up watching the annual television special with her family in the Los Angeles area.

“I thought it was the cutest special then, and I still do,” she said. “It’s an iconic role, so there’s some pressure there, but it’s so amazing to see the kids in the audience getting to enjoy the same special that I grew up with.”

The stage version is designed to stay true to the story’s roots, she said.

“It’s a very time period-based, stylized performance,” she said. “There’s a lot of physicality, puppetry and set pieces. The trees look just like the TV special. All of that immerses the audience in the stop-motion aspect of the original.”

MacDonald has a degree in vocal performance and is studying at The Los Angeles Film School.

She has performed in regional theater, on the Disney Cruise Line and at Disneyland and Universal Studios. This is her fourth national tour playing Rudolph, and she also did the role in 2019 at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

She said she isn’t fazed by playing either a deer or a male character.

“Women playing adolescent boys is something that’s been happening in theater for centuries, especially in opera, where young women have been playing young boys’ roles forever,” she said. “I think that’s because we can do the boy voices better than the boys before their voices change. For example, Mary Martin and Cathy Rigby played Peter Pan in the TV special and the national tour.

“Typically in this national tour, we will have a female-identifying actor playing the role of Rudolph,” she said. “Not only am I playing a male-identifying role, I’m playing a reindeer and a stop-motion character.

“It’s a challenge to keep that youthful, adolescent male-identifying energy, but it’s also just super fun and super special,” she said.

Tickets for “Rudolph” are $20-$42 and are available at 724-836-8000 or thepalacetheatre.org.