It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play
Adapted by Joe Landry
‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is based on the story, ‘The Greatest Gift’ by Philip Van Doren Stern
“It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service imprint.
(www.dramatists.com)
We would like to begin
by acknowledging that the land
on which we gather is the unceded territory
of the Yuchi and Cherokee People.
We offer our gratitude for the land itself,
and the Indigenous people that
stewarded it for generations.
About The Play
It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play
Adapted by Joe Landry
‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is based on the story, ‘The Greatest Gift’ by Philip Van Doren Stern
George Bailey dreams of going to college and traveling the world. But after he sends his younger brother to college and stays at home to manage the family business, his life begins to feel crushingly ordinary. One Christmas Eve, bruised by quiet desperation and unable to recognize himself, George reaches his breaking point. Would the world be better off without him? Many audiences know this story as the classic film It’s A Wonderful Life. With live foley and a skilled ensemble of actors, River & Rail presents a radio adaptation by Joe Landry as a nod to the film’s source: a short story by Philip Van Doren Stern which was privately printed as a Christmas card and distributed to the author’s friends in 1943. This play is our Christmas letter to Knoxville: a show about the power of community, the sacrifices we make for those we love, and the true spirit of Christmas.
Musical Attribution
“Original Music and Musical Arrangements by Kevin Connors”
CHARACTERS
Freddie Filmore
(PORTRAYING: Announcer, Mr. Gower, Henry F. Potter, Uncle Billy Bailey, Joseph, Peter Bailey, Ernie, Old Man Collins, Ed, Pete, Man at Martini’s, Nick, Bridge Keeper, Binky, Cop)
Jake Laurents
(PORTRAYING: George Bailey / Young George)
Sally Applewhite
(PORTRAYING: Mary Hatch Bailey / Young Mary)
Lana Sherwood:
(PORTRAYING: Violet Bick / Young Violet, Rose Bailey, Matilda, Ruth, Mrs. Hatch, Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. Davis, Schultz, Zuzu, Janie, Sadie Vance)
Harry “Jazzbo” Heywood
(PORTRAYING: Harry Bailey/Young Harry, Bert the Cop, Clarence Oddbody, Sam Wainwright, Lawyer, Dr. Campbell, Randall, Tom, Martini, Charlie, Carter, Horace the Bank Teller, Tommy Bailey (Child), Mr. Welch, Sheriff)
Cast
ETHAN GRAHAM ROEDER as Freddie Filmore
(PORTRAYING: Announcer, Mr. Gower, Henry F. Potter, Uncle Billy Bailey, Joseph, Peter Bailey, Ernie, Old Man Collins, Ed, Pete, Man at Martini’s, Nick, Bridge Keeper, Binky, Cop)
GREGORY CRANE as Jake Laurents
(PORTRAYING: George Bailey / Young George)
AMBER COLLINS CRANE as Sally Applewhite
(PORTRAYING: Mary Hatch Bailey / Young Mary)
EMILY HELTON as Lana Sherwood:
(PORTRAYING: Violet Bick / Young Violet, Rose Bailey, Matilda, Ruth, Mrs. Hatch, Mrs. Thompson, Mrs. Davis, Schultz, Zuzu, Janie, Sadie Vance)
ROBERT PARKER JENKINS as Harry “Jazzbo” Heywood
(PORTRAYING: Harry Bailey/Young Harry, Bert the Cop, Clarence Oddbody, Sam Wainwright, Lawyer, Dr. Campbell, Randall, Tom, Martini, Charlie, Carter, Horace the Bank Teller, Tommy Bailey (Child), Mr. Welch, Sheriff)
Creative and Production Team
Director — Emily Ernst
Stage Manager — Jade Hurst
Technical Director/Lighting Designer — Scott Baron
Assistant Techincal Director — Josh Leslie
Sound/Properties Designer — Amoirie Perteet
Scenic Designer — Michaela Lochen
Costumes Designer — Joshua Peterson
Photography — David A. Johnson and Chris Alley
House Manager — Wymon Anderson
Artistic Director and Producer — Joshua Peterson
Assoc. Artistic Director and Marketing Co-Lead — Emily Ernst
Executive Director and Producer — Kenneth Herring
Show Sponsors
Season Sponsors
A Special Thanks
The Chairs at the Old City PAC were donated to River & Rail by the Angel Capital Group in memory of Sam McCamy.
Who's Who
CAST
(Alphabetically, by Surname)
Amber Collins Crane
(Mary Bailey)
Amber Collins Crane is honored to be back at River and Rail telling this hopeful story alongside her favorite collaborator. She was most recently seen at River and Rail in "White Rabbit, Red Rabbit" and previously in "The Wolves", "The Little Prince" and "Sweat". Amber came to Knoxville by way of San Francisco where a few of her favorite credits include Blanche in "Streetcar Named Desire", May in "Fool for Love", Becca in "Rabbit Hole", Birdie in "Little Foxes", and Moll in "Incidents in the Wicked Life of Moll Flanders". Prior to the Bay Area, Amber worked in theatre, television and film in NYC and LA. Amber recently established Seen Space, an actors collective for teens offering coaching and classes to the young artists of Knoxville (theseenspace.com).
Gregory Crane
(George Bailey)
Gregory is thrilled to return to River and Rail after performing in White Rabbit Red Rabbit this spring. Other Knoxville credits include A Christmas Carol at CBT and The Diary of Anne Frank at Oak Ridge Playhouse. Gregory is grateful for the opportunity to share the stage with his wife again, after previously performing in A Streetcar Named Desire and Deathtrap. This spring they will be producing an intimate production of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. Other favorite shows include: The Glass Menagerie, A Chorus Line and Two Gentlemen of Verona. Favorite things in life: Sybella and Lucien.
Emily Helton
(Female Character Track)
Emily Helton earned her Bachelors in Theatre from the University of Tennessee in 2019. Currently she serves as the Academy Director at Knoxville Children's Theatre. Recent acting credits include Fun Home(2023), Hair(2023), The Wolves(2022), and The Vibrator Play (2021). Recent directing credits include Knoxville Children's Theatre's Sense and Sensibility(2023), and Joan the Girl of Arc(2022). She would like to thank her dogs, Dempsey and Duncan, for their unwavering support, and her partner, Kelsi, for always being up for playing pirates. emilyannhelton.com
knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com
Robert Parker Jenkins
Harry/Multi-Track Male)
Previously at River & Rail Theatre: Fun Home (Roy/Pete/Mark/Bobby Jeremy), In the Next Room (Leo Irving) and The Unusual Tale…(Benjamin/Ensemble). Clarence Brown Theatre: Hair (Berger); King Charles III (Cootsey/Nick); Candide (Ensemble); Peter and the Starcatcher (Ted/Ensemble); Violet (Leroy Evans/Radio Soloist); Mr. Burns, and A Post Electric Play (Matt/Homer) among others. He holds a BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Tennessee. Thanks to the cast, crew, and artistic team for their care and artistry. Love to his family, Katy, David, and Cody.
Ethan Graham Roeder
(Announcer/Freddie Filmore)
Ethan Graham Roeder is a multi-disciplinary theatre maker, Knoxville native, and founder of First Take Co., a new entertainment/theatre company serving multi-hyphenate artists. Regional acting: All Is Calm (Boise Contemporary Theatre & Opera Idaho); A Christmas Carol, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park); Coriolanus (Great River Shakespeare Festival); Hair, The Madwoman of Chaillot, A Christmas Carol, Urinetown, Mr. Burns, South Pacific, Titus Andronicus, Spamalot, CTRL+ALT+DELETE (Clarence Brown Theatre); Still Life (Iowa New Play Festival). Previous directing: Souvenir (The WordPlayers), Miss A’s Garden Party, The Coffeeshop Cabaret, All’s Well That Ends Well (First Take Co.), bare (UTK Theatre Department), and a slew of assistant directing projects in Cincinnati, Minnesota, and Knoxville. Recent playwriting: The Ersatz Express (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park). He teaches at the Knoxville Children's Theatre, specializing in acting technique and devised theatre fundamentals. Most recently, he served as the emcee for First Take's fundraiser series SCRUFFY CITY SINGS, which had its inaugural run next door at Pretentious Beer, and assisted Charles Pasternak on the Institute of American Civics' production of CATO. Up next: directing the immersive JANE AUSTEN EXPERIENCE for the UTK English department, February '24. Learn more: linktr.ee/EthanGraham.
Creative & Production Team
Emily Ernst (Director)
Emily Ernst (Director) is a Lecoq-trained actor, director, movement director who splits her time between Knoxville and Dallas, Texas. She is Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the Dallas-based Ensemble Theatre Company Fair Assembly, where she recently appeared as Celia in As You Like It and spent several weeks in residence in Barcelona with Les Escultores del Aire (“Sculptors of the Air” working on an original piece to premiere in Dallas in 2024). She worked as the Associate Director of Flatwater Shakespeare where she appeared in several productions and taught acting and directing at the University of Nebraska. She has previously served as the Associate Artistic Director at Teatro Dallas and Associate to the Artistic Director at Theatre for a New Audience in New York City. She has worked extensively as a Movement Director with Cry Havoc Theatre Company and created movement last season for River and Rail on The Little Prince. Upcoming projects include directing Fiddler on the Roof at the University of North Texas and leading a team of teaching artists on adapting Julius Caesar with incarcerated youth at the Henry Wade Juvenile Justice Center in Dallas, Texas.
Jade Hurst (Production Stage Manager)
Jade’s been working as a Stage Manager since 2009, including college, grad school and right here in Knoxville! She has a BA in Film from Carson-Newman University and an MA from Savannah College of Art and Design in Cinema Studies.
Scott Baron (Technical Director/Lighting Designer)
Originally from Nashville, Scott graduated from Samford University in 2022. He joined River and Rail for the first time as the technical director for The Little Prince in the fall of that year, and joined the staff shortly after working on River and Rail productions as the technical director. Previously he's worked as the lighting designer on shows such as, A Case for the Existence of God, Vanities, Krapp's Last Tape, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He welcomes you to the Old City Performing Arts Center and wishes you happy holidays.
Josh Leslie (Assistant Technical Director)
Amoirie Perteet (Sound Designer & Props Designer)
Amoirie Is originally from Chicago, Illinois and currently a second-year MFA candidate in Sound & Media Design at UT. She graduated from UT in 2022 with a BA in Music Production & Business. Over the summer, she was the assistant sound designer for Romeo & Juliet at the American Players Theatre. Recent and future credits in Knoxville include: Blood at the Root (2022), Trouble in Mind (2023), Hair (2023), The Moors (2023) and Anon(ymous) (2024). She is excited that It's A Wonderful Life is her first ever sound design with River & Rail!
Michaela Lochen (Scenic Designer/Props Designer)
Michaela Lochen is a scenic and properties designer from St Paul, Minnesota. She holds bachelors degrees in anthropology and scenic design from the University of Minnesota Duluth and is currently pursuing an MFA in scenic design at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Recent area credits include Gingerbread at Oak Ridge Playhouse and Adaptive Radiation at the Clarence Brown Theatre. Her work will be seen next in the Clarence Brown Theatre's upcoming production of The Giver.
Joshua Peterson (Costumes Designer)
Joshua Peterson is a Texas transplant via Paris and New York but is now proud to claim Knoxville as his home. Prior to moving to Knoxville, Joshua served as the Artistic Director of Firebone Theatre Company in New York City. Joshua received his MFA in Acting from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He also holds a BA in Theatre from Oklahoma Baptist University. Between pursuing his degrees Joshua spent two years living and working for a humanitarian aid organization outside of Paris, France. He made his Knoxville acting debut in Clarence Brown Theatre's A Christmas Carol. Other Selected Regional Acting credits include Measure for Measure and Much Ado About Nothing (Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival), Barry Love in House and Garden (Theatre Three), Gail in Our Lady of 121st Street (Kitchen Dog Theatre) and Jon in Tape (Dallas Theatre Center.)
David A Johnson (Photography)
David Johnson is Director of Photography for River & Rail Theatre Company. David has a degree in photojournalism from the University of Texas, and has worked in photography for more than 40 years. David loves creating photographic expressions of River & Rail’s productions which communicate the beauty and passion of theatre.
Chris Alley (Photography)
From Chris: I’m Chris Alley of Alleyway Studios. I shoot photo and video. I started shooting in the early ‘80 after my dad bought me a slr for Christmas. I’ve been shooting ever since. I have a BA and MCM in music but photography has always been my passion. I really thrive when combining visual and musical arts.
Wymon Anderson (House Manager)
River & Rail Board of Directors
Harrison Boyd
David Brown
Tyler Hays
Kenneth Herring
Joshua Peterson
Deaver Shattuck
Katy Wolfe
FOUNDING BOARD EMERITUS
Logan Mahan
Amelia Peterson
River & Rail Staff
Founding Artistic Director — Joshua Peterson
Assoc. Artistic Director — Emily Ernst
Managing Director — Kenneth Herring
Technical Director — Scott Baron
Support River & Rail
When you look at the demographics of Knoxville, the people that live on the river and the people that live near the railroad experience Knoxville from vastly different perspectives. Our neighborhoods, churches, community groups, and social circles seem deeply divided along various lines. Some are the literal lines of the Tennessee River or the tracks of the railroad, and some are metaphorical, like the lines between races, religions, and ethnic groups or the cultural lines between east, west, north, and south Knoxville. The goal of River & Rail Theatre is to not just create professional theatre accessible to all Knoxvillians, but to create theatre true to the stories of Knoxville, shared collectively by those on every side of every line.
If you share this vision of Knoxville with us, if you can see it too – a packed house at the Old City Performing Arts Center, full of people who don’t look, smell, hear, see, walk, and talk the same way yet who share in the same deep, beautiful humanity; then we invite you to help us make that happen. Your contributions enable us to pay our staff, artists and team members living, professional wages; they allow us to offer pay-what-you-wish tickets, so that people can attend our performances for as little as three dollars; they cover the cost of professional lighting and sound equipment, costumes and sets, because we want to make work that holds itself to a national professional standard, that pushes the limits of what Knoxville can do. Every dollar is tax-deductible, and every penny makes a difference. Consider making your mark on this city with us.
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River & Rail Theatre Company is an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Thank You!
“This project [is being] [was] supported in whole or in part, by federal award number 21.027 awarded to the City of Knoxville by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Arts & Culture Alliance.”