‘It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play’ opens at Hilltop Theater

The holidays are fast approaching, but before you get caught up in the holiday rush, indulge yourself in a warm, fuzzy Christmas story to remind you what the season is really about.
As its name suggests, “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” is a stage adaptation of the heart-warming Christmas classic presented as a 1940s radio show broadcast in front of a live studio audience.
The Baumholder Hilltop has transformed its theater into a fun and nostalgic Armed Forces Network radio broadcasting studio — 1940s style.
The normally behind-the-scenes happenings are at center stage, giving the audience a glimpse of a world they typically don’t get to see. Onstage, five actors and a sound-effects person deliver the lines of all the characters and produce organic sound effects.
The story is familiar to most of us. George Bailey is a man who has given up his dreams in order to help others. As George is preparing to commit suicide on Christmas Eve, figuring his life insurance is worth more than his life, his guardian angel, Clarence, intervenes and shows George all the lives he has touched and how different life in his community would be had he never been born.
The cast and crew from both Baumholder and Kaiserslautern are rehearsing long hours in preparation.
“This show is an homage to the early days of AFN radio and the classic movie,” said director Mindy Malenius. “We also hope it serves as
our Christmas greeting to the KMC. We truly wish to share this message of hope this holiday
season.”
“It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” opens at the Baumholder Hilltop Theater today and Saturday and continues on Dec. 7 and 8 and 14 and 15. The Hilltop Theater is located beside Burger King on Smith Barracks. Show tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for students, and there is a family rate of $25 for families of four or more. Tickets may also be obtained by calling 485-7244 or through the Facebook page (The Hilltop Theater).