'It's a Wonderful Life' at Cambria Center for the Arts
When Nancy Green was a girl, she spent hours sitting in her living room, listening to Fred Allen and Jack Benny crack wise over the airwaves.
“Radio was our form of entertainment when I was growing up,” said Green, executive and artistic director of the Cambria Center for the Arts Theatre (CCAT). “It was the way we spent a Sunday evening — sitting in front of the radio and watching (the action) in our minds. We had to use our imaginations.”
This weekend, the Cambria Center for the Arts revives that tradition with two free performances of the holiday classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Each show will be presented in the style of a live radio play, complete with actors clustered around microphones and a sound effects person mimicking the noises of clomping feet, creaking doors and jingling bells from a booth onstage.
“It’s our holiday gift to the community,” Green said of the production.
An annual theater tradition since 2011, “It’s a Wonderful Life” follows the same storyline as Frank Capra’s unforgettable film. (The original 1946 movie, which stars James Stewart and Donna Reed, will screen Dec. 17 at the Fremont Theatre in San Luis Obispo.)
George Bailey (Tony Costa) has dedicated his life to running his family’s humble building and loan business in Bedford Falls, sacrificing his dreams of international travel in order to keep the firm afloat. His efforts put him at odds with wealthy yet miserly slumlord Mr. Potter (Mike Shanley), who wants to take over the town.
When George’s absent-minded Uncle Billy (Angelo Procopio) misplaces $8,000 of the Bailey Building and Loan Association’s money on Christmas Eve, a desperate George seeks help from Mr. Potter, only to be turned down. Suicidal in the face of financial ruin, scandal and probable prison time, George contemplates jumping off a bridge.
Fortunately, guardian angel Clarence (Garret Larson) arrives to show George what life in Bedford Falls would have been like if he had never been born.
Janice Peters plays George’s wife, Mary, while Barbara Beane plays his mother Mrs. Bailey and his daughter Zuzu, in addition to other characters. Rounding out the cast are Oz Barron and Randall Lyon. (Every cast member except Costa and Larson plays multiple roles.)
Randall Schwalbe provides live sound effects, while Joe Crowley and Jesse Hauser serve as sound engineers.
The production takes its visual cues from a 1947 broadcast of “It’s a Wonderful Life” by Lux Radio Theatre. The cast wears period clothing and stands on the theater’s thrust stage in front of closed curtains.
“It reverts back to the old days. It’s kind of fun,” said Green, who’s directing this year’s production. She takes over the reins from Rick Auricchio, who directed the past three productions of “It’s a Wonderful Life” at CCAT.
Also on tap at the theater this month is the “Holiday Spectacular” concert by vocalists Jan Callner, Melanie Gruber and Mary Schwalbe and pianist Karen Johnson. They perform collectively as Three Sopranos & a Piano.
“We have three wonderful sopranos who got together and decided they could put on a show,” just like Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, Green said.
On Dec. 19 and 20, the trio and their accompanist will perform a mix of classical and contemporary music as well as festive favorites such as “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” and “Silver Bells.”
“It’s really a beautiful program,” Green said.
Charlie Shoemake’s Famous Jazz Artist Series will close out the venue’s 2014 calendar with a Dec. 28 concert featuring saxophonist Gary Foster, bassist Luther Hughes and drummer Darrell Voss.
If you go
"It’s a Wonderful Life"
7:30 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday
Free
"Holiday Spectacular"
7:30 p.m. Dec. 19, 3 p.m., Dec. 20
$20
Famous Jazz Artist Series
3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Dec. 28
$20, $30 for both concerts
Cambria Center for the Arts Theatre, 1350 Main St., Cambria
927-8190 or http://cambriacenterforthearts.org/
This story was originally published December 10, 2014 at 5:17 PM with the headline "'It's a Wonderful Life' at Cambria Center for the Arts."