The Valley Players cast rehearse “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.”
Reminder Publishing submitted photos
SUNDERLAND — The Valley Players are presenting “It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” over four nights this December at the Blue Heron Restaurant in Sunderland, with half of the proceeds raised going toward Way Finders.
The Valley Players is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the quality of life in the Connecticut River Valley region by producing nimble, meaningful and accessible community theater.
Valley Players’ mission is to make community theater that helps build community, which is why a portion of net ticket sales from all shows is donated to other nonprofits in the valley.
The dinner-theater production imagines the beloved holiday classic as a 1940’s radio play, performed live on stage with foley sound effects and a cast of six actors playing all 40 roles. Directed by Chris Rohmann, the cast features Valley Players’ Jane Barish, Jen Campbell, Mark Dean, Ben Hersey, Alex Manugian and Joseph Val Allen, with sound effects by Chip Roughton.
Valley Players’ president and producer of the upcoming production, Matteo Pangallo, told Reminder Publishing that a core part of the work they do is focused on building community.
“We emphasize the goals of producing, as I put it, nimble, meaningful and accessible community theater,” said Pangallo. “At the core of the mission is this practice of donating half of our net ticket proceeds from our shows to another nonprofit or charity in the valley that has a mission that aligns with the narrative or the themes of the play.”
Aligning perfectly with this year’s efforts is the production of “It’s A Wonderful Life” and a partnership with Way Finders, who will receive 50% of the money raised through the shows. Tickets are on a pay-what-you-can scale and include a gourmet three-course meal, with a choice of entrée, featuring locally sourced ingredients. Drinks will not be included.
As of press time, Pangallo said two of the nights had sold out, but those interested in attending can check back in periodically because some additional seating will likely be added. For the other two nights, Pangallo encourages those interested to make a reservation as soon as they can so they don’t miss out on one of the evenings.
During the shows, Valley Players will also host a food drive for the Amherst Survival Center, and audience members are asked to bring a non-perishable food item to contribute.
As a fan of the classic movie version of “It’s A Wonderful Life” and having watched it annually with his family growing up, Pangallo said that the story and themes perfectly reflect the Valley Players’ mission of building community.
“The play is a Christmas story, but it’s also much more than that. It’s about the strength and resilience that comes from community working together and collaborating together, supporting one another in the community, and that’s sort of at the core of Valley Players’ mission. so really I was drawn to it for that reason,” Pangallo said. “I think it’s pretty clear we have an affordability crisis in our region, in our state, in our country. Home affordability is a tremendous issue. This is a play that even though the story is from the 1940s, it’s still remarkably timely today in what it has to say about the importance of supporting affordable housing.”
Way Finders Chief Development Officer John Bidwell told Reminder Publishing that when Way Finders was approached by the Valley Players for these benefit shows, they were immediately on board with the opportunity. He said the play’s themes around affordable housing made this too good of an opportunity to pass, and added that he is appreciative of the Valley Players for shining a light on the issue.
“I think one of the things that’s wonderful is to have the creative community bring this to life. Housing in general has reached a tipping point in terms of news and awareness, but its kind of nice for the arts to be involved with it, for them to bring it to light and do it in a way to bring awareness in a way that’s fun and fits with the holidays,” said Bidwell. “We really love the fact that it brings together these different elements. The celebration, the giving time of year, the production itself and the fact that the arts can step up and really help raise awareness to critical needs in the community.”
Bidwell said the housing crisis at its core is a community issue, and collaborative work among community partners is the most tangible way out of these problems.
“It’s not the purview only of certain organizations that are going to come together and try to solve it. This is a community challenge, and it’s great when the community can come together to tackle it and raise awareness. I think the fact that Valley Players is willing to come along and partner with us on that is a perfect example of community coming together on a pretty serious issue,” Bidwell said. “The fact that here’s this production of ‘It’s A Wonderful Life,’ which came out in 1946, is still as relevant today as it was back then, it’s a little shocking frankly.”
Pangallo said the production’s formula makes for a great night of community theater.
“It’s a really interesting approach to theater because [in a] radio drama … story is being broadcast and spread wide, but also it’s so intimate, because each person listening has to imagine it based off of just what they hear. That’s where the voices of the actors and the artistry of the sound effects sort of come together to help create that imaginative world within the audiences’ mind,” said Pangallo. “I am curious to know how many folks are going to be listening to it and imagining the movie that everyone knows. The actors are doing a really good job. We’re not trying to recreate the movie. The guy who’s playing George Bailey is not doing a Jimmy Stewart imitation. It is our own Valley Players production of the story.”
Bidwell added on the upcoming run of shows, “The Blue Heron is an incredible restaurant with great food. It’s a wonderful venue to see something like this. It’s going to be the holiday season, very spirited. It’s a wonderful way to support a cause that’s really needed, but at the same time, do it in a way that’s in the spirit of the holidays.”
Pangallo said he hopes the shows yield a packed house full of people looking to support a great cause.
“One of the things that I love about the valley is we have so many great theater and arts organizations. When I started Valley Players, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t duplicating what other groups are already doing,” added Pangallo. “Sometimes, we talk in abstract ways about the value of the arts, and I wanted to sort of create a real tangible demonstration of the valley of the arts. It just seems like a natural way to do it, by essentially using or taking advantage of the theatrical talent that we have in the valley, to leverage support for these really important, worthy organizations that are doing so much across so many different issues and problems around and beyond the valley.”
More information on the upcoming benefit shows and on the Valley Players in general can be found at valleyplayers.org.
Reservations are required and close three days before the performance date, according to Pangallo. To book a reservation for one of the shows, visit valleyplayers.org. Shows are scheduled for Dec. 12, 13, 19 and 20. All start at 5:30 p.m.
