From the humorous to the heartfelt — and occasionally the heart-breaking — the W-ICT RadioLand Players are here to transport the audience back 80 years or so, to a time when the world was at war, and the entertainment outlet of choice was the radio.
“World War II Radio Christmas,” a series of vignettes and period radio advertisements interspersed with Christmas songs, will come to the Iola Community Theatre Warehouse at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
The show was penned by playwright Pat Kruis Tellinghusen, who drew on her skills as a news reporter to interview folks who lived through the war years.
She took that to create the experience of attending a live recording of a 1940s radio show broadcast during World War II.
What results is a lively, 50-minute journey back to yesteryear, told by skits and songs, with nothing more than a piano, kazoo and xylophone providing most of the sound effects, accentuated by the rich harmonies provided by the RadioLand ensemble.
And boy, can they belt out the tunes.
IT’S PROBABLY an impossible task to decide afterward who shone brightest in a sea of stars, so we’ll start with two of the newcomers.
Erica Hunt, when not reading through postcards or letters from soldiers, offers one of the early highlights, with a powerful rendition of “Accentuate the Positive.”
Meanwhile, fellow ICT rookie Gracie Campbell is one of the soloists, alongside castmate Candice Grundy— more on her later — as the lead vocalists as they offer up a version of “White Christmas” that could bring a smile to Bing Crosby.
Dan Davis also pours out his dulcet tones to a pair of classics, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” and “I’ll Be Seeing You,” accompanied by the rest of the troupe.
Grundy sparkles in multiple scenes, such as when she’s on stage with Campbell and Monica Wright as nurses sharing stories from the front-line, or when she’s on stage with Logan Stenseng for a Lucky Strike Cigarette ad, or a rib-tickling promo for Scott Tissue alongside the effervescent Michelle Kretzmeier.
Shelia Lampe has a number of memorable moments, whether it be with the aforementioned Wright alongside Wayne Stephens for a Vaseline Hair Tonic ad, or another skit in which Stephens is Clyde, a recruiter seeking pet dogs to join the war effort.
BEN AND SOFIE Alexander offer up one of the most touching pieces as Jess and Hattie, a couple who meet the day before Jess is set to sail off to the Pacific, while Hattie continues her service in the Marines helping sort letters to and from those serving.
They bond quickly, and deliver an unforgettable dance number to “Shoo Shoo Baby” — watch out Fred and Ginger!
BUT BENEATH every chuckle, there’s a stark reminder, sometimes through news bulletins, occasionally from letters, that there’s a world at war.
