Perhaps nothing shows a clearer picture of Christmas hope than a radio show.
Therein lies the estimation of actor Logan Rivera. He’s cast as the culturally classic holiday character George Bailey — the suicidal guy who literally tried to drown his sorrows on Christmas Eve — from the celebrated 1946 Frank Capra film “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Rivera figures he has a pretty wonderful chance to reach people on a heart-tugging level with his portrayal (for the third time locally) in “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” unfolding this weekend and next at Columbus’ 100-seat Harlequin Theatre inside FairOaks Mall.
“I think everybody has had moments where they feel that they have lost their way and are now at the end of their rope,” Rivera said.
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Harlequin founder Robert Hay-Smith is directing the reader’s-theater work, balanced between the silly and the sentimental, set in a 1946 radio studio. Eight actors will play more than 30 characters in the throwback production, complete with retro radio commercials and old-style studio sound effects, thanks to performer Terry Clark.
Cast members will be reading partly from a script very similar to the movie in which a guardian angel shows Bailey the tremendous impact of his life — to the point that Bailey decides to go on living.
This marks Hay-Smith’s fourth local presentation of the show, done in 2013, 2015, and 2017 to strong positive feedback. Though the production features the same scenes, every reincarnation is slightly different, given live theater — especially this form, in which the sound effects sometimes have fallen silent and serendipitously left the audience laughing.
All part of the spontaneous act.
“The story is so very strong that we dare not change it,” Hay-Smith said of the Joe Landry script. “And it really is so much fun, and that makes it better for the whole family, really. And even the little kids will love watching everything going on (in the studio) with the wind machine and the thunder machine and everything else.”
Plus, Clark uses a gadget taken from the interior of a toy doll to mimic the sound of a crying baby. Only it doesn’t always quite sound like that.
“Sometimes,” said Hay-Smith, “it sounds more like a sheep braying.”
Some parts of the show allow audience members to get a bit wild and woolly. For instance, Clark reminds attendees near the opening of the show that they are a key to the broadcast.
“So don’t be shy, and feel free to applaud, laugh, cry, swoon just as loudly as the spirit moves,” he says.
History will show that local audiences have also felt free to boo the crusty character of Mr. Potter (played this year by actor Tim Staggs), the town’s bank owner and the show’s main antagonist, when he speaks.
Rivera was only a teenager the first time he played Bailey, and found the challenge as oversized as the holiday itself.
“Stepping into the shoes of a character 20 years older than I was at the time definitely was no easy task,” he said.
Actress Kristy Kelley is returning to the cast and a show that she sees as more than wonderful. She has acknowledged that she cannot watch the movie without crying. And now she ideally cannot do Christmas without this mix of the silly and the sentimental.
“This,” she said, “is one of my favorite Christmas traditions.”
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What: Presentation of "It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play," a twist on the 1946 classic Frank Capra holiday film.
When: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and also Dec. 20 and 21.
Where: The Harlequin Theatre, inside FairOaks Mall, 2380 25th St. in Columbus.
Tickets: $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Children under 12, $10 at the door. Advance tickets available at Viewpoint Books or online at brownpapertickets.com
Principal cast: Logan Rivera as George Bailey; Tim Staggs as Mr. Potter; Terry Clark with sound-effects; Kristy Kelley as young Mary Hatch; Robert Staggerwalt as Peter Bailey; John Wampler as Young Harry; Zack Ellison as Clarence; Debi Davey Isobel Carter as Ruth Daikin-Bailey; Connie Kiviniemi-Baylor as Violet Bick.
Information and reservations: 812-343-4597.
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