During rehearsals for Elgin Theatre Company’s latest production, those not in the cast will occasionally stop by to drop off a prop or other item. Soon, they are drawn into watching the tale of Ebenezer Scrooge unfold — through the guise of an old-fashioned radio show.
“Once they come in and start watching the show, they can’t break away,” Director Linda Collins said.
The theater company will present “A Christmas Carol” radio play Friday-Sunday at Kimball Street Theater in the Rider Center of Elgin Academy. Performances are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday. The two-act show runs just under two hours.
“We do it like an old time radio broadcast … which makes it kind of a throwback for a lot of audience members,” said Collins, who is also president of the theater’s Board of Directors. “It’s a really fun way to do a show. It’s a great way to kick off the holidays.”
Adapted by Philip Grecian, the radio play tells the classic Charles Dickens story of the miserly Scrooge, who on Christmas Eve is visited by the spirit of his former business partner as well as the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Through their visits, Scrooge sees the error of his ways and learns what is truly valuable in life in time for Christmas morning.
“It’s a universal message that we all need to reach out to our fellow man,” Collins said. “It’s also a story of redemption — that people can change.” With so many adaptations of “A Christmas Carol,” the real challenge is to tell the story in a way that is fun and exciting for both those who are familiar with the tale, but also those younger audience members hearing it for first time, she said.
The play is set in a 1940s radio station, with the cast appearing in ’40s era clothing rather than the traditional Dickensian garb.
“Their voices take you to the turn of the century,” Collins said. “But the actors are from the 1940s. The challenge is for the actors to take us back to that time period.”
Because the story is presented in the style of Reader’s Theatre, the actors do not have to memorize their lines. However, the cast has been rehearsing since early October, Collins said, and many of the actors “know (the script) by heart.”
“They’re so gifted, and so much fun,” she said of the cast. The cast of 12, along with four singers, is from throughout the Northwest suburban area. Each actor — with the exception of John Di Leo, who portrays Scrooge — plays multiple roles.
“He’s got the heaviest part in the show, so he’s just going to stick to one character,” Collins said of Di Leo. “But everybody else in the show plays a minimum of four voices.
“It’s certainly a challenge for the actor to create a distinctive sound for every role they’re playing,” she said. “Whether it be an American sounding voice that switches into a British or even a Cockney accent.”
Similar to old radio shows, the cast has the script in hand as they perform, she said.
“It’s truly theater of the mind,” Collins said. “If you close your eyes as an audience member, you wouldn’t know it’s the same person.”
In addition to telling the story of “A Christmas Carol,” the cast and live musicians will perform authentic 1940s radio commercials and jingles. The commercials are a throwback offering a look into times when views were different, she said.
“For example, one of our commercials is for Camel cigarettes,” Collins said. “And back then, they didn’t know smoking causes cancer. And so they actually had doctors who recommend Camels. They’re verbatim actual commercials that we got — the scripts from the ’40s. Times certainly have changed.
“We even do an Oldsmobile commercial where the woman is ignorant to all things automotive, and the line is ‘Honey, you can back seat drive in solid comfort back there,'” she said.
All of the sound effects for the show are also performed live.
“Just like they used to do in the old time radio, where they used a set of shoes for someone walking up the stairs,” she said.
To create the effect of wind, a machine made out of canvas and wood is used.
“You actually turn a crank to make it sound like the wind blowing,” she said. “Everything is very authentic to the time.”
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Kathy Cichon is a freelance writer.
‘A Christmas Carol’ radio play
When: Friday-Sunday
Where: Kimball Street Theater, Kimball Street and Dundee Avenue, Elgin
Tickets: $18 adult; $15 youth and seniors (18 and younger/65+)
Information: 847-741-0532 or www.elgin-theatre.org/