Buffalo State rings in the holiday season with ‘It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play’

The Buffalo State Theater Department and Casting Hall Productions are proud to present It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, on stage in the Warren Enters Theatre November 12-16.

Based on the story "The Greatest Gift" by Philip Van Doren Stern, It's a Wonderful Life tells the story of George Bailey as he considers ending his life one Christmas Eve. It's a Wonderful Live: A Live Radio Play, adapted by Joe Landry, brings the holiday classic to life as a live 1940s radio broadcast, with a cast of eight that brings more than two dozen different characters to the stage.

"It's a live radio play of the movie you know," said director Jennifer Toohey, associate professor of theater and coordinator of women and gender studies. "We're in the radio studio with a live studio audience-you!-so the students are learning all about the genre of radio theater that was happening before the advent of television."

With every production, the Buffalo State Theater Department provides its students with new educational opportunities-February 2024's TEACH allowed students to be part of a first-ever production of a new play; March 2025's Ride the Cyclone challenged them to perform "in the round," with audiences seated on all four sides of the stage-and It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play is no exception.

"Last semester, we did a voiceover class," said Toohey, who teaches voice and speech courses. "This production has really extended the students' voice acting abilities. Some of the actors are playing multiple characters, so the challenge is how to distinguish between them just with sound. You have to still be an actor even if you're only using your voice."

"I've never been part of a show that required me to rely so much on my voice," said sophomore Phoebe Auquier. "In a radio show like this one, the amount of physicality you're able to have is very limited, so it is essential to capture as much emotion as possible in the voice alone. It taught me a lot."

"I've learned how much chemistry and character work can be done between actors with just voices alone," added Jaiden Morey, one of the production's understudies.

Cast member Alvaro Rodriguez is responsible for foley sounds, noises used to enhance the experience by supplying sound effects outside of the dialogue.

"I'm not used to barely talking and solely making noises on stage," he said. "It took some getting used to, but I'm very proud of myself and my other cast members."

Also of note, Toohey shared, is that this production marks the first time Buffalo State has ever produced a holiday show.

"We're really trying to celebrate and lighten people," she said. "The set is incredible; you're really going to feel like you're in a radio studio on Christmas Eve."

Auquier added, "It was really cool to put our spin on something so classic."

Tickets
Adults $22.50 (seniors $16.50); Buffalo State alumni, faculty, and staff members $16.50. Students $8 at the box office with student ID.

Performances
November 12, 13, 14, 15 at 7:30 p.m.
November 16 at 1:00 p.m.

The Warren Enters Theatre is located in Upton Hall on the Buffalo State University campus (PDF, 3.6 MB).

Photos by Jesse Steffan-Colucci, Buffalo State photographer.