I can’t get enough of this time of year when even my recurring interview feature, Rapid Fire 20Q gets into the holiday spirit. To that end, here’s another Christmas-themed Rapid Fire 20Q! This time I’m chatting with Geoff Davin, Caleb Shore, Mariah Parris and Gerold Oliver, cast members of Studio Tenn’s holiday offering It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, opening this week at Studio Tenn’s recently renovated and renamed Turner Theatre located inside The Factory at Franklin (230 Franklin Road, Franklin, TN). Having first presented this unique adaptation of the familiar story of George Bailey and the folks from Bedford Falls in the winter of 2021, It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play will once again delight holiday audiences beginning Thursday, December 7 and continuing for an extended run through Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24.
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RAPID FIRE 20Q WITH CAST OF STUDIO TENN’s IT’s A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY
RAPID FIRE Q&A WITH IT’s A WONDERFUL LIFE’s GEOFF DAVIN
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Among the characters you portray in Studio Tenn’s It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, you play radio station announcer Freddie Filmore. What’s one trait of Freddie’s personality that you’re enjoying exploring? Side Note: Did you know Freddie Filmore is an apparent wink to I Love Lucy in that there was a recurring character with that name who was an announcer and TV game show host in several episode of the classic sitcom?
GEOFF DAVIN: First of all…NO I did not know that reference to I Love Lucy! I love that!!!
And secondly…what’s fun about Freddie is that there is something just so satisfying about leaning into that 1940’s radio announcer. There’s a warmth and home-iness to him that just brings to mind a family gathered around their radio, in front of their fireplace, the snow gently falling, the lights on the Christmas tree twinkling. While he is probably the character that I spend the least amount of time inhabiting, we come back to him every so often throughout the show. So he’s a wonderful reset button. A warm place to come home to after we’ve been all over Bedford Falls.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?
GEOFF DAVIN: Definitely Christmas morning.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Rudolph or Frosty?
GEOFF DAVIN: That’s such a hard one. I love them both. But I’m going to say Frosty. Because while Rudolph leads the sleigh every year, and Santa couldn’t do it without him, old Frosty is around for only a short while. The magic in that old silk hat is fleeting. So we need to be a little extra grateful for the time that we have with him.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: 1987’s A Muppet Family Christmas or 2002’s A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie?
GEOFF DAVIN: Without a doubt, 1987’s A Muppet Family Christmas.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Favorite Christmas Memory?
GEOFF DAVIN: I was very fortunate in that my parents did many things right. But one thing they truly knocked out of the park was their ability to create Christmas magic. There are simply years and years of beautiful Christmas memories to sift through. The smell of the box of ornaments after a year in the attic, going door to door throughout our neighborhood to sing Christmas carols, the annual visit to the town center tree lighting ceremony/nativity viewing, running outside Christmas morning to find the bits of carrot that we left for the reindeer scattered around the yard, and of course the cookie crumbs that Santa left on his plate of cookies. And then, on Christmas morning, we couldn’t just run to the tree. Oh no! There was an order of business. We had to wait in the hallway. Then our parents would take us around to the room where our stockings were hung by the chimney with care…literally. And only after we were done there, could we enter the room with the tree. Even during the years when the family belt had to be tightened, the magic never wavered.
Then we would pile into the car to visit both sets of grandparents. But it wasn’t just the grandparents. Everyone in the family…aunts, uncles, cousins, would gather at those two houses. So we got to share the day with all of our extended family. The food. The conversation. The music. I’m actually getting emotional just typing this. I’m so grateful for the beautiful traditions that my parents created and gave to us. Because of them, Christmas will always be a magical time of year.
RAPID FIRE Q&A WITH IT’s A WONDERFUL LIFE’s MARIAH PARRIS
JHPENTERTAINMENT: This year you and a couple of your cast mates are returning to the roles you portrayed when Studio Tenn debuted their production of It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. You’re cast as radio personality Sally Applewhite who then voices Mary Bailey in the station’s presentation of It’s a Wonderful Life. What’s it like retuning to the role?
MARIAH PARRIS: It’s an absolute pleasure. Performing this show two years ago really surprised me in that this story has stuck with me and permanently altered my heart. It helped reframe my personal views on community and inspired me to live a more connected life all year long. I’m excited to return to the role to refresh this lesson and I hope the audience will have the same take away!
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Shared names not swaying your answer, who’s the real Christmas Diva…Mariah Carey or Michael Bublé?
MARIAH PARRIS: I think we all know Christmas officially starts the first time we hear All I Want For Christmas is You….enough said
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Do you prefer Santa in a full-length Victorian Robe or the more modern two-piece fur-trimmed suit?
MARIAH PARRIS: Modern Santa all the way- you can’t tell me that the Victorian robe is practical for getting in and out of that sleigh!
JHPENTERTAINMENT: The Santa Clause movies or Home Alone franchise?
MARIAH PARRIS: I grew up watching Home Improvement so it’s gotta be Tim Allen for me
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Favorite Christmas Memory?
MARIAH PARRIS: One year when I was still in elementary school, my parents surprised me with a super cool bunk bed that had a futon couch on the bottom. We finished opening presents and they told me to put my gifts in my room. When I opened the door there it was: the most beautiful big kid bed I’d ever seen. I still have no idea how they set it up without me noticing. Total Christmas magic. Thanks mom and dad!
RAPID FIRE Q&A WITH IT’s A WONDERFUL LIFE’s CALEB SHORE
JHPENTERTAINMENT: You’re back again having performed the dual roles of radio personality Jake Laurentis and It’s A Wonderful Life’s George Bailey. Revisitng George, are there aspects of his personality you are more conscious of in your portrayal this go-round?
CALEB SHORE: Finding George a second time means I get to pick up where I left off two years ago. Having Mariah Parris back as Mary and Gerold Oliver as Harry and Clarence make the process totally seamless.
This time around I’ve peered deeper into George’s passions. His dreams are grand. His love runs deep. His willingness to go the extra mile wins the day every time. He’s smart and poetic, even when he lets his goofy side take the wheel.
A character only gets to live as long as the actor inhabits them. We’ve now doubled George’s lifespan with me, so once I reacquainted myself with his voice and movement I got to let him walk around and see the world again. He gets more time to spend with his friends and his family. He gets to fall in love, encounter heartbreaking loss, and discover himself more and more. Mariah and Gerold play characters George holds very dear. That they are back showing his world just as he remembers it makes the whole experience so rewarding.
Now I don’t know if any of this long-winded answer will be visible to audiences. They may come away thinking everything looks the same, and that’s okay. But for us, for me, every look and movement and sound carries more weight, because we’ve been around longer to live them.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Fruit Cake or Pumpkin Roll?
CALEB SHORE: Pumpkin Roll
JHPENTERTAINMENT: A Charlie Brown Christmas or The Nightmare Before Christmas?
CALEB SHORE: A Charlie Brown Christmas, but if we’re talking true favorites I have to mention Home Alone, The Preacher’s Wife, and Elf.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Old fashioned Christmas Tree decorations like strings of popcorn and paper chains or blinged out store bought fabulousness?
CALEB SHORE: Our tree is usually decorated with personal ornaments that remind us of times gone by. Anything we can find while traveling, we’ll buy to remember that trip.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Favorite Christmas Memory?
CALEB SHORE: One favorite Christmas memory I have is from the first Christmas after I got married back in 2015. My wife and I brought home our kitten, Cashew. I’d kept the secret for weeks and it was a terrific surprise.
RAPID FIRE Q&A WITH IT’s A WONDERFUL LIFE’s GEROLD OLIVER
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Like Mariah and Caleb you’re back at Studio Tenn, having debuted the role of Harry ‘Stacks’ Heywood in their 2021 production of It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. What’s your favorite aspect of Stacks’ personality?
GEROLD OLIVER: The thing I like most about Stacks is that he’s a lot like me. He’s fun, he’s silly, and he doesn’t take himself too seriously.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: The classic stop-action animated Christmas special, The Year Without a Santa Claus features the Miser Brothers…Heat Miser and Snow Miser…which would you prefer to be?
GEROLD OLIVER: Snow Miser! Definitely!
JHPENTERTAINMENT: What one Christmas song truly embodies your thoughts of the holiday season?
GEROLD OLIVER: Any time you hear the first word of Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas you know the song, the singer, and most importantly, you know the season!
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Baked Ham or Turkey and Dressing?
GEROLD OLIVER: Baked Ham. Especially with honey!
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Favorite Christmas Memory?
GEROLD OLIVER: I’ll never forget when I got both Pokémon Gold Version and Pokémon Silver Version for Christmas. Best day ever.
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With that, my conversations with the cast of Studio Tenn’s It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play drew to a close, but George Bailey’s life-altering adventures in Bedford Falls…and beyond, are just beginning as the show opens Thursday, December 7 at Studio Tenn’s Turner Theatre inside The Factory at Franklin. Showtimes are Thursday-Sunday evenings at 7:00p.m. with additional matinee performances at 2:00 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. (On Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24, the final performances will take place at the 2:00p.m. matinee…even George Bailey needs to be home for Christmas Eve night). Tickets range in price from $35 to $70. CLICK HERE for tickets.
Up next for Studio Tenn, the current season continues with Driving Miss Daisy starring Emmy and Golden Globe winning actress Sally Struthers as Miss Daisy on stage at Turner Theatre March 7-17, 2024! Struthers of course starred as Gloria Bunker-Stivic in TV’s All In The Family and counts among her may stage credits, starring alongside Brenda Vaccaro in Neil Simon’s gender-flipped version of his hit Broadway play, The Odd Couple. Taking on the role of Miss Daisy won’t be Struthers‘ first appearance at Studio Tenn as she was last seen on Studio Tenn‘s stage during the 2021/2022 season when she appeared alongside John Schuck in a limited engagement of the two-person play, Love Letters. For tickets or more information on Driving Miss Daisy, CLICK HERE for tickets or more information, then be sure to check out Studio Tenn online at StudioTenn.com or on social media at Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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