Simi Valley theater to perform 'It's a Wonderful Life: On Air'
It’s Christmas Eve in the late 1940s.
And WNBC is scrambling at the last minute to put together a cast and crew after a New York City snowstorm prevents Broadway actors and sound effects technicians from going to the radio station to perform “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
The result is an amateur production that becomes a comedy of errors.
That’s the premise of “It’s a Wonderful Life: On Air,” a comedic adaptation written and directed by Fred Helsel, general manager of the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center.
The center will perform the play Dec. 1-23 at its theater, 3050 E. Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley. Curtain rises at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. There’s also a show at 8 p.m. Dec. 21.
Tickets cost $33 for adults, $28 for seniors and students, and $22 for children 12 and younger. To purchase, go to svvac.org or www.simi-arts.org.
Each actor is playing two roles: the 1940s character associated with the radio station and the “Wonderful Life” character that the 1940s persona is playing. The audience will watch them read their radio script behind microphones and use props to create sound effects such as walking and opening and closing doors.
Helsel, a longtime fan of radio plays, said his adaptation is based on the Lux Radio Theatre’s version of director Frank Capra's 1946 movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
In Helsel’s adaptation, the WNBC radio play in snowbound New York City goes less smoothly than the real-life Lux broadcast from Hollywood.
“In our story, these are not professional actors, so there are mistakes and hijinks that provide comedy,” Helsel explained.
In addition to amateur actors, WNBC must rely on inexperienced people to create the sound effects, including a nun who comes into the station to collect for charity.
“Sound effects are coming in at the wrong time. Someone is saying someone else’s line by mistake,” Helsel said. “Scripts are being dropped on the floor. Things get knocked over quite a bit.”
There's also some behind-the-scenes tension between station manager Gordon Fitzgerald, played by Kyle Cooknick, and aging Broadway diva Virginia Darwell, portrayed by Kathleen Silverman.
Helsel said his version is more engaging than a simple reading of the radio script.
And the heart of the story remains. George Bailey, an unlucky building and loan banker played by Jimmy Stewart in the movie, is thinking about suicide when an angel shows him what the world would be like if he had never been born. He discovers the positive impact he’s had on others.
In Helsel’s adaptation, fictional WNBC weatherman Arthur portrays George.
“The problem is when Arthur gets nervous, he has a really bad stutter,” said Kyle Sanderson, a Van Nuys actor who plays Arthur.
“As he plays George Bailey, he has to find the confidence so he doesn’t have a stutter,” said Sanderson, 27, who has acted at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
Sanderson said Arthur’s stutter sounds like Stewart’s iconic stammer.
“There is a Jimmy Stewart-like tilt to it without it being a full-blown ‘Saturday Night Live’ impression,” Sanderson said.
George falls in love with Mary Hatch, whom Donna Reed played in the movie. In Helsel’s adaptation, WNBC casts Betty Parker to play Mary.
Betty has no idea she’s going to be in a radio play when she visits WNBC.
“I approached her as a nervous Nellie,” said Jen Ridgway, who portrays Betty. “It’s fun playing that ‘I don’t know what’s going on’ element.”
As Betty becomes more comfortable playing Mary, Ridgway, 32, gets to pay homage to Reed’s portrayal of the character.
“What I love about Mary is her wide-eyed optimism,” said the Oxnard actress, who’s starting work as an acting coach. “She’s George’s guiding light.”
Dave Mason covers East County for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at dave.mason@vcstar.com or 805-437-0232.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Simi Valley theater to perform 'It's a Wonderful Life: On Air'
