Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' gets the radio show treatment at Third Avenue PlayWorks
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
STURGEON BAY - Chances are you've seen a movie or stage version of "A Christmas Carol." Chances are you haven't seen it like Third Avenue PlayWorks is presenting it over the next three weeks.
The downtown Sturgeon Bay theater company is producing a radio play version of the Charles Dickens holiday classic on its stage, with five actors familiar to Door County theater buffs playing about 40 roles supported by live music and a foley artist to provide live sound effects. Live 1940s-style ads will be interspersed in the show for products from that time.
Just like in the glory days of radio, in other words, and that's what TAP artistic director Jacob Janssen is aiming to bring to its audiences.
"It's like being in a studio audience in 1947, where you witness all these Broadway and radio stars," Janssen said.
The show, officially titled "A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play," was written by Joe Landry, a playwright whose works have been produced across the country and internationally. That includes a number of radio plays he adapted from classic books and movies, and Janssen said Landry is very well-known in the theater world for his two holiday radio shows. Along with "A Christmas Carol," Landry penned a radio adaptation of "It's a Wonderful Life" that also has played nationally, including 15 runs at American Blues Theater in Chicago.
Janssen said Landry's adaptation "hews pretty close to the original" Dickens work, but Landry is able to draw out the humorous aspects of what often is taken as a more dramatic story, even with its joyful ending.
"It's fun and charming, like the funniest version of 'A Christmas Carol' that we all know so well," Janssen said. "(Landry) doesn't miss an opportunity for the humor to come through. He tries to find the joy and humor in it. It feels more like 'The Muppet Christmas Carol.'"
The actors taking on the 40 parts have been seen on the Peninsula's professional stages, as well as in Chicago and Milwaukee theater.
Ray Jivoff, a Milwaukee theater veteran (including 20 years with Skylight Music Theatre) who recently starred in Northern Sky Theater's "Dad's Season Tickets," takes on the Scrooge character. Joining him are:
Dan Klarer, a TAP favorite who starred there in "The Santaland Diaries" and appeared in numerous other productions for the company, as well as with Peninsula Players, Northern Sky and Door Shakespeare;
Elyse Edelman, who's played in six productions on the Door Shakespeare stage and previously served as its artistic associate;
Cassandra Bissell, who spent nine seasons with Peninsula Players and appeared in "The Book Club Play" at TAP;
and Neil Brookshire, also a Pen Players veteran who among other roles shared the lead with Bissell in the company's 2021 production of "Romance in D."
Directing the actors and foley artist Brian Grimm is Mikeal Burke, who's described by Janssen as an up-and-coming young director whose career is "just starting to break out" with a resume that includes numerous Chicago theaters and other regional credits.
Janssen said audiences should be able to enjoy watching the five actors go through the rapid vocal transformations to take on the different roles, from spirits to business people and ordinary people. He also noted there's a little bit of mental audience participation involved, as playgoers use their imaginations to fill in the scenery being set by the words being spoken and sound effects being created − again, just like a radio show.
That radio-style presentation and the humor in what's generally a more dramatic work is why Janssen believes the TAP production will stand out this season from the typical "A Christmas Carol" productions found elsewhere, even those in larger cities and venues.
"You can go to Milwaukee or Chicago and see it with all the spectacular special effects with the spirits (who visit Ebenezer Scrooge to reform him)," Janssen said. "We just knew we wanted to have a Christmas show like no other."
"A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play" runs from Dec. 15 to 31 at Third Avenue PlayWorks, 239 N. Third Ave., Sturgeon Bay. Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 15 to 17, 2 p.m. Dec. 18, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 21 and 22, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 23, and 7:30 p.m. Dec 27 to 31. Tickets are $35 for ages 36 to 64, $25 ages 19 to 35, $29.75 (15% discount) for ages 65 and older and veterans, and $20 students.
A pay-what-you-can preview performance will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11. Proceeds from this preview go to Feed and Clothe My People of Door County. A final preview performance will be held at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 14; tickets at the above-noted prices are required for this show.
For tickets or more information, call 920-743-1760 or visit thirdavenueplayworks.org.
Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.
MORE: Noel Coward, tap-dance musical, madcap Sherlock and more in Peninsula Players' 2023 season
MORE: Door County's Northern Sky Theater announces shows for 2023 season
FOR MORE DOOR COUNTY NEWS: Check out our website
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: 'A Christmas Carol' becomes a Door County radio show on TAP stage
