BUCYRUS, OH (CRAWFORD COUNTY NOW) — Bucyrus Little Theatre (BLT) will continue its milestone 75th season with Joe Landry’s It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, a warm, witty adaptation of Frank Capra’s 1946 film as a 1940s live radio broadcast.
Performances are Friday and Saturday, December 11 and 12, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, December 13, at 2:30 p.m., at the theatre, 130 Songer Ave.
The production lands in a rare alignment of anniversaries. Capra’s film turns 80 in 2026. The United States marks its 250th birthday. BLT, founded in 1951, celebrates 75 years of live theatre. The choice is fitting: a small-town tale about neighbors, second chances, and the quiet difference one life can make.
Landry’s adaptation is not a full-stage recreation of Bedford Falls. It is set in Studio A at fictional station WBFR on Christmas Eve, 1946.
Five radio actors: Freddie Filmore, Jake Laurents, Sally Applewhite, Lana Sherwood, and Harry “Jazzbo” Heywood perform every role, from George and Mary Bailey to Clarence Oddbody, Henry Potter, Uncle Billy, and the townsfolk.
The show recalls the golden age of live radio drama: Lux Radio Theatre, Screen Guild Theatre, and Academy Award Theatre, which brought hit films such as The Maltese Falcon to the air, often with their original stars: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre, while studio audiences supplied the laughs, gasps, and applause listeners heard at home.
On BLT’s stage, that world comes back with practical sound effects: doors, ice, telephones, footsteps, breaking glass, and original parody commercials in the spirit of the post-war era.
Holiday music, “On the Air” & “Applause” signs, and the easy banter of a working radio company complete the experience. The result is both a love letter to Capra’s film, made famous by icons like James Stewart, Donna Reed, and Lionel Barrymore, and a playful night of theatre that rewards watching and listening.
Auditions for It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play will be held in November; details will be posted at bucyruslittletheatre.com and on BLT’s social channels.
The production is recommended for general audiences. For more information visit bucyruslittletheatre.com.