LOWER LAKE, Calif. –  Imagine it is 1946. You, like everyone else, is an avid radio listener, spending hours enjoying the variety of entertainment offered all along the dial.

Now you’ve just been given tickets to attend a live radio broadcast in a New York City studio on Christmas Eve. You’re thrilled because you’ll see some of your favorite radio stars in person, watch live sound effects being made, and be a part of a national radio audience.

It’s not really 1946, but it might as well be when you share in the magic of the Lake Country Theatre Co.'s production of “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play,” which opens on Dec. 10.

You’ll see crew as well as actors in 1940s attire (you can dress up too, if you like), and old-fashioned holiday decorations give the theater a festive air.

Even the concessions reflect the era, with Cokes in “original” bottles and homemade cookies and other goodies.

On stage, five actors perform in front of old-style mikes, voicing all the characters in the familiar story, from idealistic George Bailey, who gives up his dreams in order to help others and now faces a life crisis, to Clarence, his guardian angel, who just wants to earn his wings.
 
On one side of the stage, the foley artist, a “must-have” in live radio, uses all manner of objects and materials to produce the many sound effects needed in the show.

And don’t forget the commercials, with their advertising jingles sung by the cast, just as they would be in days gone by.

Best of all, you will be a part of the studio audience, encouraged to applaud, laugh, or cry as the spirit moves you.

Starring in this production are Nick Powell, Cindy Sobel, Charles Berry, Kathleen Escudé and Larry Richardson, with Bert Hutt as the foley artist. Susan Van Wyk provides musical accompaniment.

“It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” will be performed at the Schoolhouse Museum in Lower Lake on Dec. 10, 11, 16, 17 and 18. Friday and Saturday performances are at 7 p.m.; Sunday performances, at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $12 ($15 for first two rows), with a $2 discount for students, seniors and LCTC members.

Tickets are available at the Soap Shack in Lakeport, the Game Hub in Lower Lake and online at www.lctc.us .

For more information, contact director Linda Guebert at 707-279-4272.