‘A Christmas Carol’ to be presented as 1940s radio broadcast
What began in 1843 with the publication of Charles Dickens’ novella “A Christmas Carol” has become a story that has been adapted for many formats including theater.
Curtain Call Theatre stages “A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play” from Dec. 3 to 12 at Front Street Theatre in Mokena.
“I always loved the old-school radio genre,” said Mike Kotze, director of “A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play.”
“Telling the story using sound and words makes the audience a part of the process. It makes the audience more of an active participant since their imagination is so important in making the whole thing come to life.
“It’s also a great deal of fun for the actors since there are about 40 roles in the show. They’re all bringing a great deal of variety, energy and imagination.”
“A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play,” which is adapted for the stage by Joe Landry and has music by Kevin Connors, features six actors as characters who take on multiple roles while presenting a broadcast of the tale about miser Ebenezer Scrooge.
The cast features Ken Hawkley as Freddie Filmore, Mike “Meeks” Azarkiewicz as Jake Laurents, Adam Griffiths as Harry “Jazzbo” Haywood, Beth Czechanski as Sally Applewhite, Jean Berard as Lana Sherwood and Jim Berard as Stage Manager, who does live sound effects.
“Everyone has to be very versatile and bring a great deal of variety to
what they’re doing,” said Kotze, who first directed for Curtain Call Theatre in 2016 when the group presented “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.”
“It’s a lot of fun. For example, the fella playing Bob Cratchit is also playing Tiny Tim. He has to turn on a dime between those characters. Not only does he do it very well but it’s very fun for the audience to see that happen as opposed to a more conventional presentation.
“Theater, of course, is storytelling and this is just such a wonderful, direct way of storytelling. Being in a small room with a group of people telling you a story, especially now, is such a wonderful thing.”
Crew members working on “A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play” include assistant director Matt Carey and producer Nicki Blowers.
“Basically we’re in a radio studio in the late 1940s. There’s a row of microphones across the front. There’s a man in the back at a table with a variety of sound effects. We have an accompanist onstage providing live music,” said Kotze, of Frankfort.
“As the play is going on we sort of see actors step in and out of their various roles in the show. There’s just something nice and collegial about it. The group of radio players try to build a family, a community
while telling the story.
“This kind of presentation lends itself very well to holiday stories. They draw everyone in.”
Musician Kimberly Joy Minarich adds to the flavor of “A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play.”
“There is music during most of the show under the dialogue. It’s so much fun for the actors to interact with the live music,” said Kotze, who is also business manager for Music Theater Works, which performs at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie.
“You could use recorded tracks but it locks you into doing basically one thing and having to make sure you’re synchronized with what’s happening. When
you have live musicians onstage interacting with actors it just bring a different energy and a different level, and it’s a lot of fun.”
The fun presented onstage during “A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play” also includes vintage commercials and a deep message.
“Every time I see ‘A Christmas Carol’ I think it has something to tell us at the end. All of us go through our daily lives not necessarily in a generous holiday mood given the state of the world,” Kotze said.
“‘A Christmas Carol’ puts us in touch with what we should be grateful for — our place in the world, our place in the community and just the idea that a soul that
seems as lost as Ebenezer Scrooge can come back to the light and find happiness and joy and can find a place among other people.
“Everyone loves a good redemption story.”