"Live from WVL Radio Theatre: It's A Wonderful Life" at The Booth Playhouse

The Booth Playhouse in Charlotte is hosting this wonderfully different version of the classic Christmas tale "It's A Wonderful Life." Actually, it's not that much different at all, with the exception that playwright W. Repoley has framed the original story about a man who has struggled all of his life, only to arrive at a point, on Christmas Eve, where he wishes he were never born, within an unusual story. Of course, Clarence the Angel still comes down to show him what life would be like without him. Sounds the same, right?

Station WVL is getting ready to air the play, "It's A Wonderful Life", on Christmas Eve, only to have over half of the actors unable to get to the station due to a blizzard. This leaves only the sound effects man and the station owner's daughter, along with just two of the cast, to put on the entire show, with each one playing multiple parts.

The characters of Evelyn Reed, Mays, Lee Wright and Kitty Dayle are all vibrantly played by Maria Buchanan, Michael MacCauley, William Repley and Rachelle Roberts, who seem to effortlessly leap from one character to another, even crossing genders as necessary. The play is carried off with the audience playing the part of the studio audience at the radio station, which gives the whole experience the feel of a "reading", rather than a play. I mean this as a compliment, as I love readings.

The whole point of this play is this, that the station manager's daughter, when faced with a seemingly insurmountable challenge, is saved by the sound engineer, and his love of what he does. And that love blossoms into a love all it's own.

A very original concept which manages to stay true to the original movie/play and yet adds something of it's own to it. That's not an easy thing to do.

The Old Courthouse Theatre - "Over the River and Through the Woods"

The Old Courthouse Theatre has done it again with yesterday's superb reading of Joe DiPietro's play "Over the River and Through the Woods." What's the difference between leaving and moving? It all depends on which side of the fence you are on. Nick, played by Jacob Brayton, is a 29 year old marketing analyst who is planning on moving from Hoboken to Seattle for a job promotion. His parents have already retired to Miami with his sister Melissa, leaving him the only grandchild in Hoboken, where both sets of grandparents reside, and want him to stay. This family has a tradition of "Tango Familia", which, in Italian, means that you have roots, you belong. In short, they are dead set against his going away.

The entire first act is spent with Nick trying to break the news to his grandparents, who are all gathered for a Sunday dinner, that he has decided to leave Hoboken. He can't get a word in edgewise as the family all jockey with one another over the most trivial and seemingly insane matters.

Gene Saine and Margaret Lackey were perfect as Frank and Aida Gianelli, and Ben and Ardyee DeBurle were equally wonderful as Nunzio and Emma Cristanio. Mr. DeBurle's limited use of an Italian dialect was so effective that, even when not emphasizing the dialect, the accent is still in the listener's mind.

Together, the two sets of grandparents hatch a plot to keep their grandson in Hoboken. When Nick is invited to dinner at the Gianelli's home with both sets of grandparents attending, he is a bit suspicous. So when Grandma Emma turns up with Caitlin, played by Alex Eifner with so much charm that you want to marry her on the spot, Nick is understandably mortified. Unknown to him is that his grandparents are a delight to Caitlin, who was raised with only one grandmother, and even she passed away when Caitlin was just 13. She cannot understand the embarrassment and rejection of their love that Nick shows. Subsequently, when he asks her for a date, she turns him down.

Nick has a heart attack immediately after Caitlin turns him down and he comes back to his grandparents to recuperate. It is at this time that he makes his decision to go for the job in Seattle. It is also at this time that Caitlin stops by to see how he is recovering, and to explain why she wouldn't go out with him. She explains that what he has with his grandparents is like a dream to her. She cannot understand, nor tolerate, his rejection and impatience with them. They wish one another well and part ways.

The play is far from serious, though. There are so many lighhearted moments and characters to focus on. The Italian grandmother that thnks the whole world revolves around food, and her awkwardness with Caitlin, who is a vegetarian, over eating the veal will have you laughing out loud. The stories told by Nunzio, especailly the one concerning his getting his union card by pretending to be Irish, all the while telling it in an Italian dailect, is truly a winner. All of the characters have their fair share of the spotlight in this funny and ever so true story about life, and the choices that we make.

Eventually, Nick does take the job in Seattle and meets someone there, establishing his own family and a new set of traditions, giving himself a different sense of "Tango Familia." And that is the point of the play, that all traditions start somewhere, and go on for generations. Sometimes there are subtle changes to those rituals. And sometimes there are major upheavals as we all establish our own, new sets of rules and family traditions. But when you listen to the old folks talking about how they met, and danced the night away, you can't help but feel that with every move we make away from the family, we lose a bit more of that "Tango Familia."

Another triumph for The Old Courthouse Theatre and their series of "readings." And of course, nothing at The Old Courthouse happens without the wonderful efforts of it's host and director, Jonathan Ewart. These readings are a wonderful treat and probably one of the best kept secrets in the Charlotte area.

"Shadowlands" A Reading By The Old Courthouse Theatre

"Shadowlands", the William Nicholson play about the relationship between C.S.Lewis and his marraige to American poet Helen Joy Davidman (later Gresham and then Lewis) is a fabled romance in literary circles. Mr. Nicholsons' treatment of, and reading by, The Old Courthouse Theatre, located in Concord, both do the subject justice.

Briefly, the story is of C.S. Lewis, celebrated author, and the conflict between his intellect and his heart. After a lengthy correspondence he meets Mrs. Gresham in England in the early 1950's. She is a noted poet, having shared the 1938 Russell Loines Memorial Prize with Robert Frost. The two immediatley become quite attached to one another intellectually. He accepts her as an equal, and though they differ on some levels, they seem to recognize in one another a capacity that they have found lacking in others. They are kindred spirits.

She returns to America and divorces her husband, writer David Gresham, and then returns to England with her two sons, David and Douglas. Not wishing to return to America she and C.S.Lewis enter into a civil "marraige of convenience" in order to facilitate her remaining in England. They are still "intellectual" friends at this point. Later, when she is diagnosed with cancer, he marries her again, in the Church of England, despite her previous divorce. The ceremony was performed at her hospital bedside on March 21, 1956 by Mr. Lewis' freind Reverend Peter Bride. By 1960 she would pass away. It is worth noting that today would be their anniversary.

When Mr. Lewis first expounds on Gods pain being a sign of His love for us, he does not know Mrs. Gresham, and so may not have the necessary experience to draw this conclusion. Later on, after her death, he does question his own convictions, but much to his credit endures, and his faith in God ramains intact.

The opening of the play and the portrayal of C.S. Lewis delivering a lecture on the eternal question of "Why Does God Let Man Suffer", is superb. Will Baysinger delivers a terrific performance throughout the entire play- but this opening is his shining moment. In a delivery as potent as anything ever done by Ronald Coleman, he sets the pace for the rest of the play as he explores this still relevant question.

Kim Baysinger plays Joy and is so moved by her role, that near the end she is visibly weeping as she really "feels" the part. This is just a reading - but the audience can actually see and feel her pain. A very moving performance.

Playing the part of C.S. Lewis' brother Warnie was Tommy Warlick. His reading was "spot on" to the character he portrayed. He was, at times, acting with his hands. His interplay with Mr. Baysinger, seated next to him the entire time, gave both roles the intimacy they need and deserve.

Tim Thomas played Riley, a freind and confidante of the group of bachelors who make up Mr. Lewis' all male group of freinds prior to the arrival of Mrs. Gresham. He lends a nuanced and balanced aspect to the group, leaving you wishing he had more lines.

Tyler Warlick played the part of Mrs. Greshams' son Douglas (who wrote the original book, "Lenten Lands: My Childhood with Joy Davidman and CS Lewis" in 1988, and upon which this play is based). Young Mr. Warlick, along with his parents, who are also in the play, is remarkable in his timing and inflection, giving real dimension to such a small role. His father, as stated, plays Warnie and his mother, Katie Warlick, plays the role of the Registrar and Nurse at the hospital.

The narration, by Jonathan Ewart, was light and gave the audience just what it needed to let the play take over and serve as the bridge you cross on the journey back to England in the 1950's.

The Direction, also by Mr. Ewart, was equally understated, and enabled the play to do the talking. The characters are finely developed and the whole thing rolled along very smoothly. As in the last "reading" I attended, the stools simply disappeared and I found myself sitting in an English drawing room, fireplace, armchair and all.

This was a wonderful "reading" of a very beautifully written play. It tackles so much more than just the relationship between Mr. Lewis and Mrs. Gresham. It explores the self doubts and pain associated with ones own thoughts. Watch this space for information on Old Courthouse Theatres' next production. You really don't want to miss it.