Before shifting to a one-person retelling, American Stage satisfied its audience’s appetite for the George Bailey story with annual productions of this popular adaptation by Joe Landry. As the title indicates, it’s presented as a live radio play, in which actors play members of a 1940s radio theater troupe who take on all the roles.
At Carrollwood Cultural Center, director Jaime Giangrande-Holcom is going full-on ’40s, adding that, “We’re going to set it up like an old-school live radio show, doing fake advertisements, all the jingles. The studio audience will be part of the recording.”
She’s departing from the Landry treatment in one regard. A teacher at CCC and director of Plant High School’s theater company, she’s going to have the kids in the show played by… kids! “I don’t want to hear Young George [being played by] a man,” she added.
Four young actors will play the children, and they’re going to help with the live sound effects, too. “I’ll do everything I can to get a kid on stage. What I love about community theater is that it’s community theater—it should be a place where you can grow,” Giangrande-Holcom said.
Tickets for “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” playing Dec. 14-15 at Carrollwood Cultural Center in Tampa are still available and start at $15.
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This article appears in Nov 21-27, 2024.