A 1940s RADIO CHRISTMAS CAROL

It’s Christmas Eve, 1943, and the Feddington Players are now broadcasting from a hole-in-the-wall studio in Newark, NJ, and set to present their contemporary “take” on Dickens’ 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 festive crowd-pleaser 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 the classic Dickens tale. To “save the show,” the company improvises an ending to Charles Dickens’ classic as a film noir mystery, featuring a hard-boiled detective, a femme fatale, and an absurd rescue of Tiny Tim (and the Lindbergh baby) from the clutches of a Hitler-esque villain named Rudolf!