And, in keeping with our title, here are some views from the booth of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. We close on Dec. 22, so come on down and say hi.
First off, here’s the cast during their preshow “milling and seething.”
And now the Bailey household.
Matt’s famous “Ukulele/Cup Record” moment.
And the whole gang at work.
What a great opening week! The audiences have been responsive, appreciative, and, I truly think, charmed. We had a small issue with mic levels opening night (yup, you get full disclosure here at AVFTB!)–but that kind of thing happens since we don’t have previews. It wasn’t a huge deal; it just turned out that the bodies in the house ate up more sound than we had anticipated and some of the sound effects were quiet. We altered the levels and added a speaker here and there; and since the 2nd show, we’ve been golden!
Audiences have loved the immersiveness (word?) of the show. When they walk in the door, they’re in a 1940s radio studio. Before the show, the actors walk around–checking props, getting coffee, perusing scripts, and even chatting up the “live studio audience.” And when those “On Air” signs light up, the fun really begins. The actors zoom around–seamlessly flowing from character to character while making the myriad of sound effects required–and I see grins as I look around the audience. A large part of the fun (in addition to a great story and talented actors) is that we get a glimpse behind the scenes–we get to see actors deciding who will take a certain role (because of a fun complication that happens at the top of the show), we get to see them silently communicating (cursing? begging?) with each other, and we, the audience, have a part in the show because we quickly buy into the bit about being broadcast coast to coast. Add to that a tight hour and a half run time, and it’s been a joy so far.
We run Wednesdays through Saturdays (with 2 shows on Saturdays) until Dec. 22. If you’re in the area, I encourage you to come by. Oh, and for some other folks’ feelings about the show (read: reviews), look here and here and here and, oh yes, here.
Well, another LookIn come and gone at Tennessee Rep. It was a great night–we had a good crowd who really enjoyed the small scene and the discussion with the director and designers. And I played another show-themed playlist of songs. And here it is (Thanks to those who gave me ideas for songs, both here and in person–kudos again to Matt for many excellent suggestions):
“Fanfare for the Common Man” by Aaron Copeland — a great song written for the common soilders of World War II, excellent for our play and setting.
“The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)” by Nat King Cole — the number 1 song of 1946, I couldn’t leave it off the list.
“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” by John Lennon — an excellent song with a timely message, both for our 1946 setting and today.
“Small Town” by John Mellencamp — Mellencamp’s ode to small town America, Bedford Falls included.
“Sentimenal Journey” by Doris Day — George Bailey’s song, he wanted to travel the world but he found all he needed at home.
“You’re Nobody Till Somebody Love You” by the Russ Morgan Orchestra — “You may be king, you may possess the world and its gold; But gold won’t bring you happiness when you’re growing old.” Take that, Mr. Potter!
“Auld Lang Syne” by Daniel Cartier — A very important part of the story, and I really like this soulful version.
“(There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays” by Perry Como — I had to reach out of our time period to the ’50s for this one, but it was too perfect to pass up.
“I’ll Be Home For Christmas (If Only In My Dreams)” by Bing Crosby — Perfect for our time and our story, and a great song.
“You’ll Never Walk Alone ” from “Carousel” by Frank Sinatra — My favorite version of this song and the “you’ve gotta have friends” song without which this list wouldn’t be complete.
And now we head to tech. For once, it should be a breeze for me. With all sound effects produced onstage and minimal lighting effects, the focus will be squarely on the actors. They won’t mind; they’ve been needing an audience for a week! (see my “magic of an audience” post toward the end of this Crucible tech week report) This is really going to be a magical show–I can’t wait to see it with an audience. Seeing all the effects produced right in front of you and getting to see these talented actors seamlessly flow from character to character, has been a treat. It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play is a delightful, charming night of theatre! I’ll be back after tech, once we’ve had our first audiences, to let you know how it’s going.
You know, it’s one of those things that theatre people have the most trouble adequately communicating to those who have never been inside the rehearsal hall–just how much fun it all can be. The Crucible was certainly its own kind of fun, but when you put five actors in a room–five talented actors who are comfortable together–and tell them to come up with funny character voices and just have a good time….well….let’s just say it can be hard to stay on task! Despite our breaks for laughter, we’ve worked on making sure all the sound effects happen for our radio play, and we’ve worked on the various characters–all played by our wonderful cast of 5; we have David Alford (directing and acting), Matt Carlton (you’ll be seeing a lot of this gifted actor this season), Jenny Littleton (ditto), Marin Miller (playing Mary and others), and Todd Truley (our George Bailey)–Rep vets all and all talented comic actors. Sometimes rehearsals come to a screeching halt as one of them does something so outrageously funny that we spend the next 10 minutes rolling around on the floor trying to catch our breath.
We’ve had visits from people who sound suspiciously like Carol Channing, Hank Hill, and Truman Capote (just to name a few)–and then rehearsals started! It’s a Wonderful Life will be a wonderful, joyous show, but I wish that all of you could have one day to see the insanity–the lovely, life-giving insanity–that comes from hanging around theatre folk. We have our share of neuroses (ok, MORE than our share!) but the extra shot of endorphins from all the laughter has to make up for it!
So as I’ve said before, plan on coming by the NPT building (161 Rains Ave–Nashville, TN) this Tuesday Nov. 20 at 5:30pm for our LookIn–and still leave those ideas for It’s a Wonderful Life songs. Oh, and plan now to give the BridgeKeeper his (her!) own special ovation!
So welcome to the 2nd show of Tennessee Rep’s 2007-2008 season–It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play! After the compelling, darkly wonderful The Crucible, Wonderful Life presents us with a set of quite different challenges. The story is the same one that we know and love from the movie of the same name. However, in this incarnation, it’s presented as a 1946 radio play. What’s great fun about this production is that we’re going to present a complete world from the moment the audience steps into the theatre. From the production assistant carrying scripts to my voice over the loudspeaker (what we call “the God mic”), we’ll all be a 1946 radio sound stage–WTRT. What’s a special challenge for us is that the “performance” won’t just start at 6:30pm (or 7:30pm) when It’s a Wonderful Life starts; no, when the house opens at 1/2 hour, we’ll be out there moving around and getting ready in our 1946 world. Everything, from the preshow “curtain” speech to the bows will be in this 1940’s reality. It really should be quite a blast for audience and cast/crew alike!
And since this is the first day of rehearsal, our LookIn for It’s a Wonderful Life is right around the corner. As I explained for The Crucible, Tennessee Rep’s LookIns are a chance for the public to come get a peek at our rehearsal process. The director and designers will talk about their processes, the actors will present a short scene from the play, and there’s free food and drink. Our LookIn this time around will be 5:30pm on Tuesday, Nov. 20th at our studio in the NPT building at 161 Rains Ave. If you’re in the Nashville area, I encourage you to drop by and say, “Hi.”
And as I did with The Crucible, I’m holding another musical playlist contest. During the LookIn I always play music; this year I decided to play songs that were tied to each show. Take a look back to see the songs that won out for The Crucible LookIn–they were quite creative! This time around you have even more options–you can choose songs based on the themes and happenings in It’s a Wonderful Life OR you can choose songs that are a nod to our 1946 settings–even better if you can do both! Since Nov. 20th is just around the corner, don’t wait too late. I’ll close the submissions on Nov. 19th so I can gather the music. If you have ideas, just leave them as comments to this post–I’ll publish the winning songs after the LookIn on the 20th, and please plan on coming by to hear them for yourself!
