AT UDM, it really is a “A Wonderful Life”
Anytime a new film or stage cast takes on a script that is already indelibly etched in the brains and consciousness of the audience, it’s a precarious enterprise. In the case of It’s A Wonderful Life, it is pretty hard to follow James Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore.
But there is a quaint and enjoyable stage version making the rounds this holiday season of It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. I saw the production mounted by the University of Detroit Mercy at the Boll Family Y.M.C.A. Theatre in Detroit, and Stewart and Barrymore would enjoy it if they were in the seats.
The show is a straight-forward presentation of the script of the movie that has delighted audiences for decades. The performance is set in the 1940s, so the flavor of the radio broadcast presented by the actors is a lovely trip into the past when, before the age of TV, audiences went to radio studios to watch a radio drama performed.
Especially enjoyable is the work of Andrew Papa who is a faculty member at UDM. Playing the host announcer, Harry, Bert, Clarence, Uncle Billy and more. Papa has just the right persona for a 1940s radio man, as well as deftly bouncing back and forth between two mics and his many characters. His voice and acting chops are a showcase for doing radio plays. Likewise, Jacquie Floyd, who is the cast’s sole an Actor’s Equity member, is impressive and lovely as Violet, Rose Bailey, Zuzu, Ruth and more. She is dressed wonderfully in a period dress and accessories and embodies the character of a radio actress from that era.
In an age of smartphones, i-movie, full-production films made on one’s laptop and special effects-driven movies, it is a nice change to see how radio shows were produced with a Foley board operator, wind being created with a hand-cranked wind machine, sound effects of water being created with a tub of…you know…water. When a phone call is being depicted in the story, the actor on the phone talks into a soup can. You gotta love that.
William Bryce plays several characters including Mr. Gower, Mr. Potter, Ernie, Joseph, Nick and more. He handles all the parts deftly. Ashe Lewis plays Mary Hatch. Andrew Laux handles George Bailey. Bridget Smith and John Krause round out the cast.
It’s difficult not to hear the distinctive voices of James Stewart as George and Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Potter echoing in one’s head even as these actors are delivering their lines. The temptation to mimic those great performances must have been great. “MERRY CHRISTMAS YOU OL’ BUILDING AND LOAN!!.”
The set, depicting the radio studio by Melinda Pacha, who also did the costuming adds to the fun of the evening. Blair Anderson directed, and the whole production holds together very nicely for a very enjoyable evening of holiday cheer and a trip back into yesteryear when, yes, the makers of toilet-bowl disinfectant cakes advertised on the radio with jingles.