The news is out! The Lincoln-Way West theater department has a special and unique production this year. For the fall play they will be preforming It’s a Wonderful Life: Live Broadcast Radio Show. This classic Christmas storyline will be performed as a live radio show. Radio shows were popular in the 1930’s and 1940’s due to the absence of popular TV, but Lincoln-Way never hesitates to make a great throw-back into a wonderful one!

The opportunity to do this unique style of play is too important to miss hearing about. Unlike a traditional play using a stage with interacting actors, they will be using mics and a radio space to represent what a radio show might have been in the past times. The play itself will be aired on the radio for listeners to experience the great content this group has ready. Not only will this be different for the listeners but also for the cast itself. Alex Nelson, junior, says, “This is a different experience because we cannot physically act with each other on stage, but it has developed our different acting skills greatly.”

The cast this year has not always been able to practice in person with each other, but that doesn’t stop them from having a great time and creating art with their talented skills. Senior Maura Fenessy says, “I love seeing how many people have come together despite circumstances to do something we all love.” Getting to experience this new format of play with an invested cast will be a thrilling experience. The crew has also been working very hard to make this production successful without the use of a full stage. For the play to seem real, inanimate objects will be used to mimic sounds and stage.

The show It’s a Wonderful Life is timeless in American culture; it follows George Bailey, played by Jason Parks, as he witnesses a Christmas miracle after personal hardships. This heartwarming story filled with love, family, and small-town heroes will fill your day with holiday cheer, so be sure to tune in for Lincoln-Way West’s first live radio play It’s a Wonderful Life. Keep your eye on social media for the exact dates and how to watch; we’re hoping to livestream!