The holidays are full of annual traditions, whether it鈥檚 giving gifts, or baking cookies. In a normal year, many would flock to the theater.
But like the rest of 2020, the pandemic has changed everything.
Many theater companies have shifted to doing virtual performances. Some are taking a more old-school approach and producing classic radio plays.
With doors shut and seats empty, the pandemic has upended the region鈥檚 theater scene.
Now the best way to get your fix of 鈥淎 Christmas Carol鈥� may be the same way your grandparents or great grandparents did: the old-fashioned radio play.
Theater companies like Ohio Shakespeare Festival are adapting Dicken鈥檚 classic tale and .
But for Shaker Heights鈥� , the radio play is nothing new.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 all we do,鈥� Executive Director Caroline Breder-Watts said.
She founded the radio theater company with her husband, John.
The company performs both classic radio plays and new adaptations, which she says are having a moment in the spotlight with traditional theater shut down.
鈥淪o it鈥檚 a very interesting time period to be in where there is so much attention being paid to this artform.鈥�
You can trace her love of radio theater all the way back to her dad.
鈥淢y father actually was a living witness to the 鈥榃ar of the Worlds鈥� phenomenon in 1939.鈥�
鈥淏ut apparently a lot of people came in late on that broadcast, which is why it sparked such panic,鈥� Breder-Watts said.
A fact her father saw from his childhood home in New Jersey.
鈥�(My father) said at the intermission of the play he looked out his window and saw cars鈥攁 traffic jam outside of his house鈥攐f people rushing to get out of town.鈥�
This holiday season Radio on the Lake is of favorites like 鈥淢iracle on 34th Street鈥� and 鈥淟ittle Women.鈥�
Breder-Watts thinks nostalgia is a powerful thing during the holidays.
鈥淥h I think it鈥檚 everything. I really do think it鈥檚 everything. At least for this genre of radio play that we work on.鈥�
In the world of radio plays, adaptations of 鈥淚t鈥檚 a Wonderful Life鈥� are the gold standard for holiday productions.
鈥淚t never loses its luster. It never loses its appeal to people,鈥� Breder-Watts said.
But Breder-Watts encourages her actors not to look to acclaimed performances like Stewart鈥檚 when adapting beloved works.
鈥淲e want this to be their own work and their own performance."
Another adaptation on Radio on the Lake鈥檚 holiday schedule is 鈥淐asablanca,鈥� a story you can鈥檛 think of without picturing Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.
She said Casablanca was adapted for the radio multiple times not long after the film鈥檚 release in 1942. It was common practice in classic Hollywood.
鈥淭he things that are iconic now, the phrases 'Here鈥檚 looking at you, kid' or 'We鈥檒l always have Paris,' they aren鈥檛 always in those radio play scripts. They were written at a time when these films were not iconic.鈥�
So they often add those famous Hollywood lines back in.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 do a play adaptation where there is this incredibly famous line and we don鈥檛 include it.鈥�
Maybe iconic lines and stories are what many of us need this holiday season.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been such a difficult year. It鈥檚 been such a painful year. I think more than ever we鈥檙e really pining for a simpler time, a happier time, a less complicated time. And these sort of plays really speak to that.鈥�
