The show must go on! With the global pandemic keeping area stages dark, and theaters empty, the Playhouse In the Park is bringing its traditional A Christmas Carol production to Cincinnati Public Radio.
Bruce Cromer, who has starred as Ebenezer Scrooge since 2005, will perform all the roles in a one-man radio broadcast, A Christmas Carol: A Radio Play, on WVXU-FM (91.7) and WMUB-FM (88.5) at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 23, and 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
"Until it is safe to bring back the full ensemble for the Playhouse’s annual production, we invite the community to celebrate the spirit of the holidays from the comfort of home with A Christmas Carol on the radio," said Blake Robison, Playhouse artistic director.
"Bruce Cromer is beloved as Scrooge, and now we’ll get to experience his immense talent and this holiday favorite in an imaginative new way."
Cromer recorded the program at Cincinnati Public Radio’s Corbett Studio with audio engineer Rick Andress and sound designer Matthew M. Nielson.
Cromer, a Wright State University theater professor since 1987, joined the Actors' Equity Association (the American stage actors' union) in 1981. He has appeared in more than 175 professional regional theater productions, including a one-man Romeo and Juliet with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. He also appeared in Todd Hayne's Dark Waters film last year in scenes with Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Victor Garber and Tim Robbins.
This would have been the Playhouse's 30th anniversary production of the Dickens classic.
A Christmas Carol: A Radio Play is sponsored by Macy's.
John Kiesewetter's reporting is independent. It is only edited by Cincinnati Public Radio for style and grammar.
