It's a 'Wonderful' show

I walked into American Theater Company with skepticism, not because it was producing "It's a Wonderful Life," but because the classic was being staged as a radio broadcast.Was this going to be two guys reading from a script on a bare stage? Hardly. The show brims with color and life, starting with the cast leading a sing-along before the show begins, with help from a rousing on-stage piano player, Brendan Henry.A Christmas tree and projected slides brighten the stage, as do costumes and hairstyles from the years before TV, when kids clustered around the radio to hear stories and entertainment. The actors, though, make this play a delight from beginning to end. Most play multiple characters. They speak into microphones onstage and, of course, they don't do any costume changes. That means they use only an actor's basic tools -- body language, voice and facial expressions -- to create the various characters.They do it beautifully. Often, you can tell by an actor's shift in body language just which character is going to emerge.At one point, actor John Mohrlein pulls off a seamless split-second switch between two of the characters he plays, the evil, greedy Mr. Potter and his polar opposite, the benevolent Clarence the angel. Though it's a radio broadcast staging, director Marty Higginbotham at times wisely ignores the boundaries imposed by the microphones to have the characters physically interact with each other, such as when Jim Leaming, playing protagonist George Bailey, sidles up to Kate Berry, playing sweet small-town girl Mary, and they exchange steamy looks.Higginbotham keeps the show going at a snappy pace and the radio-style delivery adds to the 1940s feel of the piece, matching the era in which the original Frank Capra movie is set.Plus, the radio broadcast style brings two fun touches to the production. Sean Okerberg does all kinds of sound effects as the Foley artist -- the guy who would create the sounds of knuckles rapping at doors and heels clicking across the floor for old-time radio. And the cast does live commercials for local advertisers, which are a hoot. They even sing jingles, just as radio actors would have done back then.I would have liked to have seen the scene in which George Bailey's friends help him out of a crisis played up more. That point, that a lifetime of building up goodwill can find people eager to help in one's hour of need, almost got lost in the multitude of activity at the play's ending.Nevertheless, the energy building throughout the play reaches a high point at the end, creating an irresistible feeling of good cheer."It's a Wonderful Life"Rating: 3 of 4 starsLocation: American Theatre Company, 1909 W. Byron Ave., Chicago When: 8 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 3 and 6 p.m. SundaysTickets: $40. (773) 929-1031Running time: 90 minutes Parking: Street parking or metered parking lot at Lincoln and Berenice, one half-block south Rated: Suitable for all ages