Staff Writer
The Paw Print
Sounds of the holiday season will soon be heard as Adams State University Theatre presents It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. Tickets go on sale Friday, November 21 at 8 a.m. at the ASU Theatre Box Office.
It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, directed by Dr. John H. Taylor, is the eleventh holiday season production the theatre program has produced since 2004. Taylor notes, ““From Auld Lang Syne to an angel named Clarence, our production will rekindle your favorite memories of the film while being a completely unique theatre experience. It is the classic story you love, but with a twist.” The play takes place in a 1946 radio studio as a company of actors presents a live coast-to-coast radio broadcast of It’s a Wonderful Life. From sound effects created live on stage to actors playing multiple characters, the charm and magic of the original story comes alive as the lives of the radio performers intersect with the characters in the story. “This is a fairly new script that has quickly become one of the most popular holiday shows across the country. This Christmas season alone, there are more than 70 productions of the play being done throughout the United States,” said Taylor.
The production features senior theatre majors David Boncyk as George Bailey, Clarissa McNamara as Mary Bailey, and Erik Thurston as Mr. Potter. Music major Victoria Ricci is cast as a singer in the production and James Wehe, a performance major in Denver University’s Lamont School of Music, will play the piano.
Since 2008, the Theatre program has partnered with La Puente Home and Valley-Wide Health Systems to use the opening night performance as a fundraiser to help those in need in the San Luis Valley. With this year’s performance, the opening night benefit performances will have raised around $350,000 for La Puente.
Public performances of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play run Dec. 6, 12, and 13 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 6, 13, and 14 at 2:00 p.m. The La Puente Home benefit performance is Dec. 5 and the ASU Alumni performance is Dec. 7.Tickets are $10 for general public, $8 for seniors and students, $6 for children 12 and under, and free to Associated Students and Faculty with current ASC i.d.
The box office number is 587-8499. On Nov. 21, first priority will be given to people standing in line for tickets with telephone orders filled afterwards.
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