The Lamplighters Theatre wants to take you back in time for the holidays.<\/p>\n
Starting Nov. 27 and running through Dec. 20 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., the theater is presenting a stage adaptation of a 1939 broadcast of \u201cOrson Welles presents \u2018A Christmas Carol\u2019 Radio Show.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although the stage show is recreating radio, director Robin Pollock said audiences shouldn\u2019t expect stiff performances from the actors.<\/p>\n \u201cA major challenge of the show is making it interesting because if you hear a radio show, it is very alive because you are using total imagination to paint the picture,\u201d she said \u201cWe\u2019re doing a radio show with an audience, so we\u2019re trying to create as much of the characters as we can while they\u2019re doing the show. So it is a bit of a challenge for the actors because they go \u2018I\u2019m a radio actor but I\u2019m also sort of acting out the characters.\u2019 So it\u2019s about trying to find a balance to that so it\u2019s still entertaining for the audience to watch it. That\u2019s a huge challenge actually.\u201d<\/p>\n To find that balance, Pollock and the cast did their homework to find inspiration and make the stage production come alive.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all studied pictures of the radio actors so we could see that they don\u2019t just stand at the microphones and say their lines, they were emoting and doing gestures and body movements.\u201d<\/p>\n Unlike standard stage productions of \u201cA Christmas Carol\u201d that stick to the British accents and Victorian mannerisms of Charles Dickens\u2019 day when he wrote the book, Pollock said the Lamplighters production used the creative license of Welles\u2019 1939 broadcast which the cast studied by listening to recordings.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can actually get online and type in \u2018Orson Welles radio show 1939\u2019 and it\u2019s there,\u201d she said. \u201cSo you can hear it and it\u2019s Lionel Barrymore as Scrooge and it\u2019s really corny and so we\u2019re trying to keep the corniness and the campiness and have the actors in 1939 costumes and they\u2019re playing these Victorian-era characters.\u201d<\/p>\n Pollock said she wants audiences to experience what a show was like in radio days, which was very \u201corganic\u201d compared to the today\u2019s virtual entertainment of YouTube videos. One of the ways the production is recreating the organic nature of radio is the use of sound effects, emphasized by actor Robert Burton<\/p>\n \u201cOur sound guy is hilarious, he\u2019s a total ham,\u201d she said. \u201cHe stands up and he\u2019s got the gong going and it sounds like church bells, but it\u2019s a tin bowl, and he\u2019s banging it. When Marley (played by Ray Lynch) is on, there are all these chain sounds with the wailing sounds, so it\u2019s a real in-the-now experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Remaking \u201cA Christmas Carol\u201d is nothing new. Recent examples include \u201cScrooged,\u201d starring Bill Murray and even an animated version by Disney, starring Jim Carrey. \u201cThere are so many versions of it. Anyone can do it and it\u2019s been done in so many ways and we\u2019re just putting a different spin on it,\u201d she said<\/p>\n Pollock\u2019s own spin on the classic story was partly out of necessity. \u201cI had to add some scenes back in because the original radio show was only an hour,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The end result is a unique take on a holiday classic, and that is what Pollock hopes audiences enjoy about the production the most.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing bad in it. It\u2019s family entertainment,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s just all about Christmas. If you want to see a Christmassy show that\u2019s filled with Christmas, this is it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOrson Welles presents \u2018A Christmas Carol\u2019 Radio Show\u201d stars Larry E. Fox as Orson Welles; Jeff Duncan as Scrooge; Danny Deuprey as Bob Cratchit; Max Patag as Tiny Tim; Sarah Williams as Belle and Mrs. Dibler; Donalee Brayman as Ghost of Christmas Past and Mrs. Cratchit; Terrence J. Burke as Fred Dibler; Steve Jensen as Ghost of Christmas Present and Oscar; and many more.<\/p>\n The show runs from Nov. 27 through Dec. 20 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at the Lamplighters Community Theatre located at 5915 Severin Drive in La Mesa. Tickets are $20 for adults and $17 for seniors, students and active military and can be purchased online at lamparaslamesa.com<\/a> o llamando al 619-303-5092.<\/p>\n![\"(l](\"https:\/\/lamesacourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/IMG_6064web.jpg\")
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