By Paul R. Nickels
If you want to see a wonderful retelling of Charles Dickens’ timeless Christmas classic, go to SimonFest’s A Christmas Carol: On the Air in Cedar City for a fun night for all. In A Christmas Carol: On the Air, you’ll get it with movie and television veteran actor Clarence Gilyard (Top Gun, Die Hard, Matlock, CHiPS) headlining as Ebenezer Scrooge in this three-day-only run.
Want to see a hilarious comedy of mishaps, misadventures and missed cues? You’ll get that too, watching the Wright Brothers and their fictional troupe of actors who travel from town to town recreating old-time radio classics. You’ll be sitting in the audience of a live radio show, complete with Applause signs, live pianist, special sound-effects man, and a trio of stylish, tight-harmonizing Carolettes (think Andrews Sisters).There’s even the chance for audience participation with giveaway prizes. As you watch the Christmas broadcast, you’ll also be watching the behind-the-scenes story of these radio actors and their conflicts, and how the spirit of Christmases past comes to their rescue. (Watch for “An Old Friend” in the program.)
A Christmas Carol: On the Air is a Cedar City original, a collaboration of Peter Sham (bookwriter and lyricist) and Brad Carroll (composer) that first played at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in 2004, becoming a staple holiday hit in this theater-rich community. The pair are also authors of the highly successful Lend Me A Tenor, which has run on London’s West End and other first-class venues throughout the UK, Germany, and it is rare when you get to see a play actually starring its author, but Sham himself is onstage as Chick Wright, the road-trip-weary narrator of Dickens’ holiday tale. His brother Stu Wright was originally played by Sham’s collaborator Carroll, but is here played by no less than Simon Fest founder Richard Bugg. As can be imagined, both players understand their characters perfectly, and audiences will appreciate every word of their well-tuned voices. Comedy is king as Chick ’n Stu present their potpourri of humor to a hungry audience.
Of the cast of nineteen, most cover two or more roles, playing characters in Dickens’ tale, then serving made-up news and live commercials from REAL local businesses (hard to separate fact from fiction in parts of this narrative.)
In recognizing a few of the supporting cast, I would like to first acknowledge the most undersung hero of any musical production, the pianist. Music in a movie is generally most successful when it is not noticed. It is easy to miss that Lawrence Johnson, also the show’s Music Director, is onstage the entire time, providing background, special effects, commercial music for the Carolettes, and generally propping up the production with impeccable playing. Kudos, Mr. Lawrence. Another character you will not miss is the anonymous Ghost of Christmas-yet-to-come, though, since he does not exist in the present you will not find him listed as a cast member.Next to the characters of Scrooge, Chick and Stu, the most watchworthy is handy Andy, the overworked sound effects man, played by Taylor Seth Hall. Besides being on cue for every bell, knock and chain-rattle, the under-acknowledged studio go-pher finally rises to his moment of triumph as the unexpected embodiment of Christmas Present. You’ll love his moment. Also watch-worthy is Wendy Penrod as Chiffon Baker, the studio recipe specialist who creates (or becomes) the perfect holiday fruitcake. If you liked Lucille Ball, you’ll love this. The other ensemble members present their various identities well while managing to still look like actors trying to act. Like I said, it’s “a show within a show.” The ensemble characters are seated in a row on an open stage and walk to the mike stands, script in hand to do their radio readings as they would in a radio studio, but for the benefit of their live audience they rotate through appropriate costumes courtesy of Costume Designer Jen Bach.
A Christmas Carol: On the Air is directed and produced by Sham and Bugg, and is fun family entertainment in a lovely theater. For the $15 ticket price you won’t find more professional work anywhere! And parking is Free. Hurry– you have only two more opportunities to see it before it’s part of Christmas Past.
SimonFest presents A Christmas Carol: On the Air, by Peter Sham and Brad Carroll.
Heritage Theater, Festival Hall, 105 N 100 E, Cedar City, UT 84720
Tickets: $10-$15
Contact: 435 267-0194
SimonFest Facebook Page
SimonFest Website
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