Radio Days

Long before there were computers, iPods and even television, families would gather ’round the radio and tune in to their favorite programs. Chief among them were radio dramas.

The radio drama, once a staple of traditional family entertainment time, died out in the early 1960s after TV become popular. But WPPB 88.3 FM radio personality Bonnie Grice—an award-winning broadcaster, producer, host and interviewer—recently made it her mission to bring back the classic entertainment format.

Teaming up with director Michael Disher and a host of local theatrical and voice talent, Ms. Grice embarked on a project to find and broadcast a traditional yet compelling radio drama for today’s times. The result: her version of the Charles Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol.”

“I’ve been wanting to do a radio drama for a number of years and this seemed like the perfect time,” Ms. Grice said during an interview at the radio station last week. “I really think ‘A Christmas Carol’ is a yearly reminder of values, perspective, the real stuff of life.”

Ms. Grice said that she scoured the shelves of the Samuel French bookstore in Manhattan looking for a radio play version of the classic Christmas tale but couldn’t find exactly what she wanted. Eventually, through a tip by a helpful store clerk, she came upon a website that had what she was seeking: a 1939 CBS Campbell Playhouse radio broadcast of “A Christmas Carol,” starring Lionel Barrymore and narrated by Orson Welles.

She adapted the radio play, adding a couple of scenes that resonated with her from the book version. The two critical pieces of action Ms. Grice wrote center on a moment in young Ebenezer Scrooge’s life that turns him into the coldhearted miser he becomes as an adult and a scene with the Ghost of Christmas Present, who introduces the characters of Want and Ignorance. Ms. Grice’s dialogue is also spoken in Mr. Dickens’s original British tongue.

“I wanted mine to be traditional,” Ms. Grice said, “harkening back to the Alastair Sim movie version from the ’50s.”

The 47-minute adapted radio play—sponsored by the Southampton Publick House, Rose Jewelers, Tanger Outlets, Empire State Cellars and Eastport Animal Hospital—was first broadcast the day after Thanksgiving. WPPB will air the radio drama four more times before the end of the month—on Fridays, December 16 and 23, and on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The radio play stars Dan Becker as Scrooge; Josh Gladstone in the roles of Narrator, Marley and Fezziwig; Paul Bolger as Cratchit; Barbara Jo Howard as Mrs. Cratchit; Tristan Vaughan as Fred and Young Scrooge and Brooke Alexander as the Ghost of Christmas Past. The cast is rounded out by Rosemary Cline, in the roles of Belle and Martha; Brendan O’Reilly as her husband; Meryn Anders as Fan; Terrance Fiore as the Ghost of Christmas Present and Second Man; Katie Kneeland as Tiny Tim; Rupert Stow as Gentleman and First Man; and Julia Tyson as Child and Boy. Kyle Lynch was the sound engineer for the production.

Mr. Becker, who has appeared in many East End stage productions, said this was his first time doing voice work, though was a disc jockey back in his college days. During a telephone interview on Monday, he said that working on “A Christmas Carol” was a rare opportunity.

“I never did a radio play before,” the man who voiced Scrooge said. “But it was great fun.”

Mr. Gladstone, who is the artistic director for Guild Hall, said that he was thrilled to be included in the production, particularly as the caliber of voice talent was so high.

“I was impressed with the cast. Dan Becker did the finest work I have seen from him and the rest of the company was really good,” he said during a telephone interview on Monday.

The narrator said that he was also happy to be joined in the production by Ms. Howard, who is Guild Hall’s director of marketing.

“Barbara Jo was a surprise because I didn’t know she was going out for it,” Mr. Gladstone said, adding that he and Ms. Howard often practiced for the radio play while at work. “We were insufferably walking around the office talking in our cheesy British accents annoying our coworkers.”

Though he was visiting family in Washington D.C. over Thanksgiving, Mr. Gladstone said he managed to catch about half of the first broadcast on his iPhone. Not only does he plan on catching one of the future broadcasts of “A Christmas Carol,” he exhorted everyone else to tune in as well.

“’Tis a treat,” he said. “Get a cup of spiced rum and sit by a fire. If not, take something and burn it and listen,” he joked. “Grab your iPad or your transistor radio. Listening to a radio play is a different thing, an old-school way to tell a story. This sets the tone of the holidays, it’s worth a listen.”

“A Christmas Carol” will air on WPPB 88.3 FM on Friday, December 16, at 7 p.m.; Friday, December 23, at 11 a.m.; Saturday, December 24, at 4 p.m.; and Sunday, December 25, at noon.