Director and co-producer Marti Hopson is promising to deliver a boost of holiday cheer to Island audiences in December.
ACT, A Community Theatre, which is celebrating its 25th season, is set to present It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play by Joe Landry, Dec. 3-5 at the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown and Dec. 10-12 at the Watermark Theatre in North Rustico.
Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. with an additional matinee on Saturdays at 2 p.m.
Set on a 1940s radio stage, six actors will portray dozens of characters. Complete with Foley sound effects (named after a sound-effects artist), they will bring the story to life in front of a live audience.
“It’s almost like a play within a play,’’ Hopson said. “At the beginning, they are these actors who come out and are introduced by the announcer. We also have our own radio advertisements with musical jingles for local businesses who are sponsoring the production. So, we’re singing for Purity Dairy and we’re singing for RBC Dominion Securities … and Century 21 and for the Confederation Court Mall. We had to write these original songs.’’
The audience will see a 1940s-style set on stage. The show itself is acted out through voice, body language and movement of the characters who all stick close to their microphones. The actors are all pretending this is a live broadcast going out to listeners.
The cast includes Alex Arsenault, Jenna Marie Holmes, Amanda Rae Gallant, Mike Mallaley, Keir Malone and Rob Thomson, joined by Mitchell Gallant and Pat Caron providing the sound effects, which will include bells, whistles, car horns, breaking glass and footsteps.
The play is based on the classic movie written and directed by Frank Capra.
On Christmas Eve and on the brink of disaster, George Bailey is thinking of ending his life. But, with the help of a guardian angel, Clarence, he experiences what the world would be if he had never been born. After reuniting with his family, George realizes that “no man is a failure, who has friends’’.
Hopson was attracted to the story because it could be done with a small cast and a minimal set. It’s also a production that can be done under current public health restrictions due to COVID-19 and one that can still attract an audience.
“Once the Atlantic bubble opened up and we started talking to smaller venues about smaller shows we thought this would be a good choice because it can be presented in an intimate setting,’’ Hopson said. “There isn’t a set, per se; we don’t have lavish costumes or an orchestra, so we thought this was a good fit.’’
This will be the first ACT production at Confederation Centre of the Arts’ Homburg Theatre since Evita in 2009.
Hopson said the centre approached the group.
Adam Brazier, artistic director at the centre, is excited to be partnering with ACT again.
“One of our strategic priorities is to support local theatre initiatives, and this has become more vital than ever during these challenging times for our community and the arts industry,’’ Brazier said. “It’s a Wonderful Life is an uplifting story of family, love, hope and redemption, a perfect message for 2020 and the Island holiday season.’’
Amanda Rae Gallant, who will play about half a dozen characters, said there is a hunger for live theatre in the community right now.
“I think people are really missing (it). To watch a play together is a community (thing to do). You're doing that together. You're laughing together; you’re crying together; you’re shouting back and forth at the characters together. I think that’s exactly what we need.
“As an actor and as a singer, it’s exactly what I need, to be on stage and to have an audience and to feel those lights and to hear the energy from the crowd. It’s like we’ve been dying of thirst and someone has given us a big glass of water.’’
Mallaley, who is also co-producing the show, said it’s hard to express in words how much he has missed being on stage this year.
“I thought it was going to be at least another year before I got back on stage (due to the pandemic) and I’ve been acting my whole life,’’ Mallaley said. “I hate when I have to go a year, two years without being on the stage. I go into this dark hole when I’m not able to express myself (on stage).’’
Mallaley said the hiatus created by the pandemic hasn’t been his biggest concern coming into this production.
“I didn’t realize it was going to be so challenging to make all my voices different from each other,’’ he said in reference to the fact he is playing multiple characters.
Thomson, whose characters include the angel, Clarence, and the villain, Mr. Potter, said the real treat for audiences will be seeing what Mitchell Gallant and Pat Caron do to create the sound effects.
“The wonderful thing about this play is you have a table out there with a huge range of the most odd variety of instruments on it,’’ Thomson said. “You have everything from buckets of water to jellybeans and (they) make the action come alive.’’
Thomson said this production is especially gratifying for him because he played Joseph, the senior angel, at the Homburg Theatre in 1996.
“But, I’ve been demoted,’’ Thomson said, tongue in cheek. “Then I was playing the supervising angel and now I’m the apprentice (Clarence) who is struggling to get his wings.’’
Amanda Rae Gallant said this story is also one people can relate to.
“We’ve all had self-doubt and we’ve all been depressed at some point, especially this past year,’’ the actor said. “Mental health has been such a big crisis lately. This reminds us all of what is important, family. It’s easy to connect to the story.’’
Need to know
The following information details where and when the shows are playing and how to get tickets:
- Dec. 3-5 at Confederation Centre of the Arts at 7:30 p.m. and a bonus 2 p.m. show on Saturday.
- Due to public health guidelines, no more than 270 tickets will be sold per show. A limited number of single-seat tickets can be purchased. Ticket packs will also be sold in cohorts of two, three and four.
- Tickets can be purchased at www.confederationcentre.com.
- Dec. 10-12 at Watermark Theatre in North Rustico at 7:30 p.m. and a bonus 2 p.m. show on Saturday.
- Due to public health guidelines, no more than 40 tickets will be sold per show. Tickets can be purchased in cohorts of four.
- Tickets can be purchased at ticketwizard.ca.
- Information links for all ticketing can be found at actpei.com.
Did you know?
The Guardian asked the creative team and some of the actors in It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play to list some of their favourite Christmas movies/stories.
The titles include:
- Scrooged,
- Muppet Christmas Carol,
- Love, Actually,
- Christmas with the Kranks,
- Miracle on 34th Street (the original),
- A Christmas Story,
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Dave Stewart is The Guardian's culture reporter.
