(L-R) Jeff Gardner, Simon Helberg, Rebecca Mozo, Rob Nagle and Ryun Yu (Photo – Brick Patrick).
What a totally fun and surprising evening! Surprising to me because I had never seen a “radio play” and also was skeptical as to whether I could relate to this incarnation of a beloved holiday movie.
By Carol Edger Germain
But I and the rest of the audience had no trouble jumping into the concept and taking ourselves back a few decades to a time when plays were broadcast on the radio. I loved the “applause” and “on air” signs that lit up at appropriate times, although the audience was usually a split second ahead of the prompt in its applause because it came naturally.
The entire cast was excellent, with those playing multiple roles jumping easily from one voice to another, and Jeff Gardner not missing a beat in his position as foley artist, A couple of times I closed my eyes to picture listening to the play on the radio, but this production had a lot of visual interest as well, with the period wardrobe and perhaps some extra animation because the actors knew they were being viewed by a large audience, so I was enjoying the visuals as well. Extra interest was also added by having the characters sing Christmas carols and sing commercials of the time (one about a hair product similar to Brylcreem and one about a soap similar to Lava). And of course the happy ending, with it’s positive message that we are all important, life is a joint venture, there is a God, or guardian angels, or spiritual guides, or however you personally interpret it, who give us little pokes to make us wake up, get the point, and participate fully in life.
(L-R) Jeff Gardner, Rob Nagle, Haneefah Wood, Rebecca Mozo, Simon Helberg and Ryun Yu (Photo – Brick Patrick).
Spend an afternoon or evening going back in time and enjoying the feel-good holiday spirit, the play runs through December 23.
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