Image Credit: Western Canada Theatre

By Adam Donnelly

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Western Canada Theatre set to bring Christmastime classic to Sagebrush stage

Nov 15, 2022 | 4:11 PM

KAMLOOPS — It’s a Wonderful Life is a Christmastime classic. The 1946 film, starring Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey, is a story of an angel who is sent from heaven to show a frustrated businessman what life would have been like if he never existed.

This year, Western Canada Theatre is producing a unique version of the story — a radio drama performance of It’s a Wonderful Life within a play. CFJC Today got a sneak preview and has this story.

Set in the fictional town of Bedford Falls, New York, It’s a Wonderful Life is a tale of George Bailey’s realization that life is worth living, and the importance of family and community. Western Canada Theatre decided to produce a version that features a radio drama-within-a-play.

“For a theatre to produce it in its original form is very difficult,” Director Johnna Wright tells CFJC Today. “It’s a movie, right? So many different locations, so many characters. This is a way of making it so it can be brought to an audience but at the same time adding this really fun extra dimension. You get to see behind the curtain and see how all the sounds are made.”

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Lukas Vanderlip is the man who will make those sounds a reality. Foley sound effects were a staple of radio dramas, and are still used in feature film production. For Lukas, figuring out which sounds go where started with a thorough read-through of the script.

“Reading the script and noting where all the sound effects might happen,” Vanderlip explains. “Going through it and being like, ‘Okay, this thing might be cool here.’ Lots of trying out different sounds and different things. It’s fun, a fun process of experimentation.”

The Foley effects help create the sounds that draw you into Bedford Falls. Alex Furber, who plays actor Jake Laurents portraying leading man George Bailey, hopes the audience enjoys the unique perspective this version of It’s a Wonderful Life presents

Image Credit: CFJC Today

“What’s really fun for the audience is seeing the focus of us trying to do the show, but then you also get to see the outside relationships of the actors. The little mishaps behind the scenes and how we recover,” Furber says. “I think that’ll be a really fun element of this live studio audience watching the radio performance.”

The film, which was produced in 1946, is still a staple for Christmas movie viewers, likely because the message of the story still resonates with its audience.

“I think that the reason It’s a Wonderful Life is so much a part of people’s lives at Christmas is that really tells a story we need to hear,” Wright says. “How our lives are so important in the lives of other people. I think that’s a really good message to get at Christmas.”

It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play will run from November 24 until December 10 at the Sagebrush Theatre. You can purchase tickets through Kamloops Live! Box Office.