By John Quinn
It was early exposure to J. R. R. Tolkien's essays on storytelling that has led me to an ongoing fascination with how a story is told. "The Greatest Gift" is a 1939 short story written by Philip Van Doren Stern. Hollywood producer and director Frank Capra adapted it for his 1946 Christmas drama, "It's a Wonderful Life." Playwright Joe Landry is responsible for this unusual adaptation of Capra's film. "It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play" premiered in 1996 at the Stamford (CT) Center for the Arts. I'd like to think Landry shares my interest in the differences inherent in telling stories by written or spoken word versus more visually dependent genres like stage and screen. One of my better college professors resolved part of the divide when he told us, "One doesn't go to the theater to 'see' Shakespeare; one goes to 'hear' Shakespeare."
Yet when invited to review HappenStance Production's "It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play," I approached the assignment warily. While I knew we were in for a show set on Dec. 24, 1946, actually watching a radio re-creation sounded as dull as watching a novelist clack away his keyboard. Surprise! The broadcast from the mythical Detroit station WAND Radio has a live studio audience – and we're it! Lest you think that Detroit was an unlikely broadcast center, remember both "The Lone Ranger" and "The Green Hornet" were productions of WXYZ Radio.
The vocal talents are dressed to the nines in snappy, post-war style when, save for our presence, they could be working in bathrobes. The cast uses gestures and expressions to flesh out the narrative. As actors step forward to twin microphones and voice the dozens of characters in the script, colleagues step back to a table and create the appropriate sound effects. This is quite a treat for me, since I'm still in the childlike "how did they do that?" phase. A plumber's plunger and a washtub of water becomes a rushing river in my imagination; the more sophisticated among you will prefer the CGI version.
Briefly told, "It's a Wonderful Life" is the story of George Bailey, a decent young man who has never shirked his responsibilities to family and friends. A chance misfortune threatens both his business and his honor; George contemplates throwing his life away -which is a genteel way of saying he's throwing himself off a bridge into frigid water. His is spared by the intervention of a bumbling guardian angel, Clarence, sent from Heaven to intervene. Clarence shows George what the world would be like had he never been born. Returning home, he finds the townspeople he has supported through the years are now supporting him, and theme is summed up by Clarence's parting reminder: ". . . no man is a failure who has friends."
Appearing are Katie Galazka, Kirsten Knisely, Joel Mitchell, Patrick O'Reilly and, as George Bailey, Kevin Young. The performances, under the direction of Aaron T. Moore, are crisp and very polished. In fact, the cast shares the gift of remarkably good voices that any actor would envy. It is unusual, though, that there isn't much interaction among the radio performers. But perhaps, in the context of broadcasting before a live audience, everyone is on his or her best behavior.
If there are drawbacks in the production, they are purely structural. "It's a Wonderful Life" runs about 90 minutes without intermission, and when the novelty of the actors playing multiple parts wears off, one's eyes can tend to glaze over. Consider, for instance, that Joel Mitchell plays the Announcer, Joseph, Mr. Gower, Henry F. Potter, Uncle Billy Bailey, Ernie, Pete Bailey, Mr. Bailey, Old Man Collins, Ed, Man, Giuseppe Martini, Nick, Bridge Keeper, Binky. That means he is, at times, schizophrenically holding conversations with himself. While the cast members do a good job of delineating each character by voice, at times it's tough to remember who's who.
Ultimately, "It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play" is more about form than content. For theater patrons who like to think outside the box, it's a satisfying, non-traditional twist to a traditional holiday standard.
REVIEW:
'It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play'
HappenStance Productions at Andiamo Novi Theatre, 42705 Grand River Ave., Novi. Thursday-Sunday through Jan. 15. $15-$20; or $49.95-$59.95 per couple for dinner & show. 248-348-4448. http://www.ticketmaster.com
