Wonderful play portrays 'Wonderful Life'
Ashliee DeLaCruz
Issue date: 11/20/09 Section: Entertainment
It's a different experience for an audience member when the acting isn't dramatized with physical movements and the actors reading their scripts.
I'm talking about watching a radio play; a play where there is a fourth-wall in that we are watching a cast of radio players from the 1940s reading, "It's a Wonderful Life."
It's a different kind of challenge for actors in that they must emphasize their voices and take character variation to another level.
The cast of "It's a Wonderful Life-The Radio Play" managed to accomplish this when I saw them at the Whittier Community Theatre.
The players entered the radio station (stage) very naturally and energetically.
The chit-chat wasn't audible but it established stage presence, use of space, and character variation. The characters as radio players had no unique names except when they were in "It's a Wonderful Life."
The transitions were smooth and each player was occupied even when they were not reading, something that other plays drop when the shows in progress.
Other transitions such as wardrobe change, 'word from the sponsors', and when the players changed characters were very natural.
Glenn Schnars who was the Announcer, Bert and Nick mastered the persona of a 1940s radio announcer.
He did especially well during the advertisements by truly capturing the corniness of 1940s advertisements.
Jerry Marble who played Clarence, the guardian angel also had a great radio voice in terms of presence and also in interacting with the other players.
His voice reminded me of those old Tex-Avery cartoons, which really made his character larger than life. Peter Miller did a great job in characterizing George Bailey. Miller's performance was modest but we still knew he was the rock of the main characters.
Miller had great chemistry with Mary Hatch Bailey played by Veronique Warner. Warner did a great job as George's devoted wife and mother of his children.
Kent Johnson made us hate him as Mr. Potter, even during the curtain call he received a couple of 'boos' from the audience.
I always look for my villains whenever I watch a performance and Johnson definitely delivered. Finally, the ones who stole the show were the Foley Artists.
These guys were the on-stage crew of KWCT Radio and most notably stole the show during the Chiquita Banana commercial when they decided to eat a banana.
Credit for all these great mechanics always goes back to the director and for this production it goes to John Francis.
"It's a Wonderful Life, the radio play" plays Nov. 20 and 21 at 8 p.m. at the Whittier Center Theatre 7630 Washington Ave. Tickets are $8-12.
I'm talking about watching a radio play; a play where there is a fourth-wall in that we are watching a cast of radio players from the 1940s reading, "It's a Wonderful Life."
It's a different kind of challenge for actors in that they must emphasize their voices and take character variation to another level.
The cast of "It's a Wonderful Life-The Radio Play" managed to accomplish this when I saw them at the Whittier Community Theatre.
The players entered the radio station (stage) very naturally and energetically.
The chit-chat wasn't audible but it established stage presence, use of space, and character variation. The characters as radio players had no unique names except when they were in "It's a Wonderful Life."
The transitions were smooth and each player was occupied even when they were not reading, something that other plays drop when the shows in progress.
Other transitions such as wardrobe change, 'word from the sponsors', and when the players changed characters were very natural.
Glenn Schnars who was the Announcer, Bert and Nick mastered the persona of a 1940s radio announcer.
He did especially well during the advertisements by truly capturing the corniness of 1940s advertisements.
Jerry Marble who played Clarence, the guardian angel also had a great radio voice in terms of presence and also in interacting with the other players.
His voice reminded me of those old Tex-Avery cartoons, which really made his character larger than life. Peter Miller did a great job in characterizing George Bailey. Miller's performance was modest but we still knew he was the rock of the main characters.
Miller had great chemistry with Mary Hatch Bailey played by Veronique Warner. Warner did a great job as George's devoted wife and mother of his children.
Kent Johnson made us hate him as Mr. Potter, even during the curtain call he received a couple of 'boos' from the audience.
I always look for my villains whenever I watch a performance and Johnson definitely delivered. Finally, the ones who stole the show were the Foley Artists.
These guys were the on-stage crew of KWCT Radio and most notably stole the show during the Chiquita Banana commercial when they decided to eat a banana.
Credit for all these great mechanics always goes back to the director and for this production it goes to John Francis.
"It's a Wonderful Life, the radio play" plays Nov. 20 and 21 at 8 p.m. at the Whittier Center Theatre 7630 Washington Ave. Tickets are $8-12.
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