{"id":84681,"date":"2025-12-11T23:28:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T23:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/84681\/"},"modified":"2025-12-11T23:28:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T23:28:14","slug":"houston-theater-offers-a-new-take-on-its-a-wonderful-life-as-a-radio-play-houston-public-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/84681\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston theater offers a new take on \u2018It\u2019s a Wonderful Life\u2019 \u2014 as a radio play \u2013 Houston Public Media"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-538409\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Its-a-Wonderful-Life-screen-capture-1000x622.jpg\" alt=\"A scene from the 1946 classic &quot;It's a Wonderful Life,&quot; starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"622\"   data-eio=\"p\"\/>A scene from the 1946 classic \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life,\u201d starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed.<\/p>\n<p>There are just certain traditions every holiday season. Things you do, places you go, and movies you watch. For many, the holidays mean it&#8217;s time to watch Jimmy Stewart in Frank Capra&#8217;s 1946 classic <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0038650\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">It&#8217;s a Wonderful Life<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Sign up for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houstonpublicmedia.org\/hellohouston\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Hello, Houston!<\/a> daily newsletter to get local reports like this delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n<p>This holiday season, however, a local theater company is offering a slightly different take on the classic film. Stages Houston is presenting <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/stageshouston.com\/event\/its-a-wonderful-life-a-live-radio-play\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">It&#8217;s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The production features actors portraying radio players in the 1940s who are bringing the story to life inside the studio of a radio station with their voices and various props and gadgets to make realistic sound effects.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-538406\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/The-cast-of-Stages-Houstons-Its-a-Wonderful-Life-A-Live-Radio-Play-1000x685.jpg\" alt=\"Actors in colorful vintage clothes sing on stage\" width=\"1000\" height=\"685\"   data-eio=\"p\"\/>(L-R) Pamela Vogel, Gabriel Regojo, and DeShae LaShawn of Stages Houston\u2019s production of \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To learn more about the challenges of bringing a story to life this way \u2014 and about how the cast and production team navigate the tricky process of retelling such a well-known and beloved story \u2014 Houston Matters producer <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.houstonpublicmedia.org\/staff\/michael-hagerty\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Michael Hagerty<\/a> visited a rehearsal where he talked with members of the cast and the show&#8217;s director, Stages Houston\u2019s artistic director, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/stageshouston.com\/meet-stages-new-artistic-director\/\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Derek Charles Livingston<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Stages Houston\u2019s production of It\u2019s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play runs through Dec. 28.<\/p>\n<p>PHOTOS:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.houstonpublicmedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/11125225\/Cast-members-of-Its-a-Wonderful-Life-A-Live-Radio-Play.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click for full size\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img data-splide-lazy=\"https:\/\/cdn.houstonpublicmedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/11125225\/Cast-members-of-Its-a-Wonderful-Life-A-Live-Radio-Play-1000x657.jpg\" alt=\"Cast members (L-R) Pamela Vogel, DeShae LaShawn, Christopher Szeto-Joe, and Gabriel Regojo during a rehearsal for Stages Houston's production of &quot;It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.&quot; (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty\/Houston Public Media)\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Cast members (L-R) Pamela Vogel, DeShae LaShawn, Christopher Szeto-Joe, and Gabriel Regojo during a rehearsal for Stages Houston&#8217;s production of &#8220;It&#8217;s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.&#8221; (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty\/Houston Public Media)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.houstonpublicmedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/11125235\/Derek-Charles-Livingston-talks-with-cast-members-during-rehearsal.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click for full size\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img data-splide-lazy=\"https:\/\/cdn.houstonpublicmedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/11125235\/Derek-Charles-Livingston-talks-with-cast-members-during-rehearsal-1000x651.jpg\" alt=\"Director Derek Charles Livingston (center) talks with cast members during rehearsal. (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty\/Houston Public Media)\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Director Derek Charles Livingston (center) talks with cast members during rehearsal. (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty\/Houston Public Media)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.houstonpublicmedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/11125242\/DeShae-LaShawn-Jillian-Linton-and-Ryan-Schabach-rehearse.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click for full size\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img data-splide-lazy=\"https:\/\/cdn.houstonpublicmedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/11125242\/DeShae-LaShawn-Jillian-Linton-and-Ryan-Schabach-rehearse-1000x687.jpg\" alt=\"DeShae LaShawn, Jillian Linton, and Ryan Schabach during rehearsal on Nov. 6, 2025 at Stages Houston. (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty\/Houston Public Media)\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>DeShae LaShawn, Jillian Linton, and Ryan Schabach during rehearsal on Nov. 6, 2025 at Stages Houston. (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty\/Houston Public Media)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.houstonpublicmedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/11125255\/Sound-effects-props.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click for full size\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img data-splide-lazy=\"https:\/\/cdn.houstonpublicmedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/11125255\/Sound-effects-props-1000x646.jpg\" alt=\"Props for making various sound effects. (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty\/Houston Public Media)\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Props for making various sound effects. (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty\/Houston Public Media)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.houstonpublicmedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/11125246\/Pamela-Vogel-makes-a-siren-sound-with-a-prop.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click for full size\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img data-splide-lazy=\"https:\/\/cdn.houstonpublicmedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/11125246\/Pamela-Vogel-makes-a-siren-sound-with-a-prop-1000x653.jpg\" alt=\"Cast member Pamela Vogel makes a siren sound with a prop. (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty\/Houston Public Media)\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Cast member Pamela Vogel makes a siren sound with a prop. (Photo Credit: Michael Hagerty\/Houston Public Media)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A scene from the 1946 classic \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life,\u201d starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. There are&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":84682,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1174,40701,40702,56,58,4978,57,38123,66,5733,223,5547,38125,4979,38126,18624],"class_list":["post-84681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-arts-culture","tag-derek-charles-livingston","tag-holiday-movies","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-matters","tag-houston-news","tag-its-a-wonderful-life","tag-local","tag-michael-hagerty","tag-news","tag-opera-musical-theater","tag-radio-play","tag-shows","tag-stages-houston","tag-theatre-film"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}