A 1940s Radio Christmas Carol

It’s Christmas Eve, 1943, and the world is at war. The Feddington Players are now broadcasting from a hole-in-the-wall studio in Newark, New Jersey, set to present their contemporary take on Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Whether it’s the noisy plumbing, missed cues, electrical blackouts, or the over-the-top theatrics of veteran actor, but radio novice, William St. Claire, this radio show is an entertaining excursion into the mayhem and madness of a live radio show. St. Claire’s escalating foibles and acting missteps propel the show to a simultaneously comedic and heart-wrenching dramatic climax: St. Claire has an on-air breakdown, and begins to connect his own life with that of Ebeneezer Scrooge. In order to save the show, the company improvises a highly unusual ending to the Dickens’ classic featuring a hardboiled detective, a femme fatale, and an absurd rescue of Tiny Tim. A 1940s Radio Christmas Carol seamlessly combines live music, witty dialogue, tender friendship, drama, comedy, heartbreak, and hope, and gives you a story you won’t soon forget.