43
‘A Christmas Carol’
Theater veteran brings Dickens classic to radio
As if he weren’t busy enough, local pediatrician — and community-theater MVP — John Cox will once again be bringing the excitement of live radio back to the Mahoning Valley. In tandem with his Rosebud Theatre Production Company, Cox has written, directed and produced a new hourlong broadcast of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” to air locally this holiday season.
During a recent interview, Cox discussed the creative genesis of “Carol,” as well as some exciting new multimedia projects that Rosebud has in the works for 2011.
Q. Are you using a pre- existing script based on the Dickens’ novel, or did you write it yourself?
A. It’s a blend of several different sources. Since I wanted an hour format to fit the radio (and everyone’s busy schedules), we found a couple of previously written scripts. Then I went back to the original source — Dickens himself — to make sure that it told the story I wanted to focus on. By filling in the gaps of some of those older templates, we finally came up with our (Rosebud) version.
Q. Why did you choose “A Christmas Carol” as Rosebud’s follow-up to last year’s successful live-radio broadcast of H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds”?
A. “A Christmas Carol” came up during a brainstorming session with Johnny Pecano and Candace DiLullo. I was trying to think of a follow-up to “WOW” but didn’t want to force just anything into a “Halloween slot.” So we thought, what about another holiday? As soon as “Carol” was mentioned, it just seemed like the way to go. We had so much fun with the sound effects in “WOW,” and this piece really gave us plenty to work with. One of the great pleasures of listening to old radio shows is the ambiance that sound effects can provide to help capture the imagination.
Q. Last time you used a plethora of community theater’s best and brightest to provide vocal duties. Is it the same this year? If so, who are some of the voices we can expect to be hearing in the broadcast?
A. Thank goodness for talented friends! I actually had too many volunteers (and not enough available roles) for this project. But I try to keep things loose, and that seems to work best for everyone. David El’Hatton is Scrooge; Molly Galano is The Ghost of Christmas Past; Tim McGinley is The Ghost of Christmas Present; Chris Fidram is Scrooge’s nephew, Fred; Jason Green is Bob Cratchit; Johnny Pecano is Jacob Marley; and my uncle Ed (who used to do professional theater) is the narrator. The best part is being able to use my own children — they love being silly for dad (laughs). Jake Cox is Tiny Tim, Danny Cox is Young Scrooge and Johnny (my oldest) was our assistant technical director since he’s better at computers than me anyway. Some other friends helping out are Candace DiLullo, Donny Wolford, Leigh Cox, Cheney Morgan and Terry Shears.
Q. Any plans to do another radio broadcast in the immediate future? And what are some of the other projects you’re looking at — in any medium?
A. I’d love to do more radio shows in the future. Having creative control — and a brilliant technical director like Johnny Pecano — really allows me to take chances. Rosebud is still in it’s larval stage, and I hope to continue learning and getting better at this. We already have several titles in the mix for the upcoming year (including “Casablanca” and “The Headless Horseman”). There are also some original shows in development as potential Internet podcasts, and we’re considering the idea of packaging some educational-type shows for use in schools as well. Someday TV and film would be a dream — at least that’s my Christmas wish (laughs). “Aim high, dream big and hang out with really smart people” has always been my mantra. It’s worked for me so far (laughs).