Audiences watching the Valley Players’ production of “It’s a Wonderful Life” will not only watch a play, they will watch a play about a play.
“It’s a little different than a traditional play,” said Matteo Pangallo, president of Valley Players, a community theater organization based in Shutesbury.
Actors will not drift in and out of sets of the Baileys’ living room, Baily Brothers Building and Loan or the bridge where George Bailey first meets angel Clarence Odbody, the encounter that moves the story into action. They will also not wear the dresses and suits of the movie’s core characters.
“Instead, it’s a radio drama, so the Valley Player actors are playing the roles of 1940s radio actors who are playing the roles of the characters in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,'” explained Pangallo, who also produced the play. “It’s a play about the making of a play as well, you get to see behind the scenes what it would look like if radio actors were performing on a broadcast.”
In Valley Players’ first-ever live radio play, just six actors will play radio actors embodying the 40 roles of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” pulling readers into a 1940s radio studio, complete with foley sound effects.
“Another reason actors really love doing these kinds of live radio play performances is it’s a play also about theater, it’s about the making of a play,” continued Pangallo, who has performed in live radio plays with other theater organizations.
The audience will be served a three-course meal in Blue Heron’s upper dining hall as the actors perform from inside a radio set. Although Pangallo said colliding dinner with drama presents challenges like actors emoting amidst the clinking of glasses and utensils, he insisted that, “those kinds of technical challenges are really secondary to the benefits that come of having that sense of camaraderie and good will that comes with sharing a meal while seeing an important story performed.”
According to Pangallo, Valley Players donates half of the ticket proceeds of every show and event to an organization with “a mission that aligns with the story or the themes of the play.” For “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Valley Players decided to donate to Way Finders, a Springfield nonprofit organization aimed at expanding affordable housing and providing supportive services for those facing housing issues. The organization will also be collecting non-perishable food for the Amherst Survival Center.
“We wanted to support an affordable housing organization in the Valley, because of the central role that housing plays in the narrative, and Way Finders seemed like a natural fit for that,” Pangallo said.
Besides the core conflict between Mr. Potter’s bank and Bailey Brothers Building and Loan, “the play and the movie is about a lot more than that,” Pangallo said. “It’s also about how a community can come together to support members of the community in hard times, and they work together to strengthen the community.”
He described the play as a “beloved holiday classic” anchored with a message with resonance beyond the holiday season.
“We wanted to do a play that tied into the holiday season but that also had a message behind it that was more than just a celebration of the holiday season, that had something realy meaningful to say, especially about our own particular moment,” Pangallo said.
Valley Players will perform “It’s a Wonderful Life” on Dec. 12, 13, 19 and 20 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Blue Heron. Although the shows are sold out, Pangallo said Valley Players is hoping to add more seats and encouraged those still interested in attending to check valleyplayers.org for updates. Tickets are “pay-what-you-can,” according to the website.