Tecumseh Players, TCA Big Band & VocalAires in WTCA Radio Show Dec. 10-11

Mary Lowe, The Daily Telegram
·2 min read
From left, Chelsea Miller, Paul Chouinard, Kim Greenfield and Brad Hill are the sound effects crew for the Tecumseh Players and TCA Big Band & VocalAires's presentation of the WTCA Radio Show, "A Christmas Carol," Saturday, Dec. 10, and Sunday, Dec. 11, at the Tecumseh Center for the Arts.
From left, Chelsea Miller, Paul Chouinard, Kim Greenfield and Brad Hill are the sound effects crew for the Tecumseh Players and TCA Big Band & VocalAires's presentation of the WTCA Radio Show, "A Christmas Carol," Saturday, Dec. 10, and Sunday, Dec. 11, at the Tecumseh Center for the Arts.
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TECUMSEH — The Tecumseh Players and TCA Big Band & VocalAires will present the WTCA Radio Show, "A Christmas Carol" Saturday, Dec. 10, and Sunday, Dec. 11, at the Tecumseh Center for the Arts

The show harkens back to the days of the Golden Age of Radio, with swing-era music, drama, comedy, sound effects, local commercials — both current and past, and “news of the day.” With a nod to "sister station" and WTCA Radio Show sponsor WLEN, it all adds up to a unique experience for audience members and performers alike, according to a news release from the TCA.

From front to back, Daniel Cook, first time actor as "Marley's Ghost"; Alan Hall, international communications specialist, as "Scrooge"; and Jimmy W. Lancaster, theater major graduate, as "The Narrator" rehearse for the Tecumseh Players and TCA Big Band & VocalAires's presentation of the WTCA Radio Show, "A Christmas Carol," Saturday, Dec. 10, and Sunday, Dec. 11, at the Tecumseh Center for the Arts.

There are three opportunities to see and hear this performance: at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11. Tickets for the WTCA Radio Show, "A Christmas Carol," are priced at $15 each and are available through the TCA Box Office. Call 517-423-6617 or stop by the box office in person at 400 N. Maumee, Tecumseh, from noon to 5 p.m. to pick up tickets. Tickets can also be purchased online at thetca.org 24 hours a day.

Based on radio shows of the 1940s, the WTCA Radio Show, "A Christmas Carol" tells Charles Dickens’ classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Under the artistic direction of Joyce Lancaster and musical direction of Mark Felder, 40 cast members, 25 TCA Big Band members, and four live sound effects artists will bring Scrooge and friends to life on the TCA stage. Members of the First Presbyterian Church Bell Choir also will perform.

Philip Eversden, guitar; Joe (Carey) Tuckey, drums; and Dana Gillin, bass, rehearse for the Tecumseh Players and TCA Big Band & VocalAires's presentation of the WTCA Radio Show, "A Christmas Carol," Saturday, Dec. 10, and Sunday, Dec. 11, at the Tecumseh Center for the Arts.
Philip Eversden, guitar; Joe (Carey) Tuckey, drums; and Dana Gillin, bass, rehearse for the Tecumseh Players and TCA Big Band & VocalAires's presentation of the WTCA Radio Show, "A Christmas Carol," Saturday, Dec. 10, and Sunday, Dec. 11, at the Tecumseh Center for the Arts.

"Set in 1944, the audience will get to be a part of a radio show audience as it is being broadcast by WTCA 'high above Evans Creek,' as producer Karen Bunch would say. Although there is no real broadcast happening, we hope to transport everyone back to 1944 and then even further back to 1843 when Charles Dickens wrote the novella that 'A Christmas Carol' is based on," Lancaster said in an email. "The message is the same whether it is 1843, 1944, or today. The greatest gift we can give each other, or ourselves, is just to be kind and take care of each other. God Bless us … everyone!"

In addition to the radio drama, "A Christmas Carol," the TCA Big Band & VocalAires will perform such classics as "White Christmas," "The Christmas Song," "Home for the Holidays," "Winter Wonderland" and "Jingle Bells." The group features a big band of five saxes, four trombones, five trumpets, four rhythm and six vocalists who will pay tribute during the performance to big band great Glenn Miller, lost over the English Channel in 1944, with the song "American Patrol."

Saxophonist Marybeth Madziar, left, and Terry Hunt rehearse for the Tecumseh Players and TCA Big Band & VocalAires's presentation of the WTCA Radio Show, "A Christmas Carol," Saturday, Dec. 10, and Sunday, Dec. 11, at the Tecumseh Center for the Arts.
Saxophonist Marybeth Madziar, left, and Terry Hunt rehearse for the Tecumseh Players and TCA Big Band & VocalAires's presentation of the WTCA Radio Show, "A Christmas Carol," Saturday, Dec. 10, and Sunday, Dec. 11, at the Tecumseh Center for the Arts.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Tecumseh Players, TCA Big Band & VocalAires in WTCA Radio Show