A Wonderful Holiday at the Milwaukee Rep

Laughter, Love and Tears in the radio play version of the classic Christmas film.

by

Theater

Everyone knows that the Christmas season begins once the clock strikes 12 on Halloween night, and the Milwaukee Rep maintains that tradition with their opening to the 2025-26 season: It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. Director Jonathan Hetler gave this holiday classic—a familiar story to many—new life by incorporating original music and fully committing to the adaptation in both story and medium.

I arrived at the Stackner Cabaret to an already bustling restaurant, full of audience members enjoying a meal or drink (I personally recommend the Midnight Curtain Call!). The transition then to showtime was seamless, as the actors began poking through the crowd, complimenting various audience members’ outfits or choice of cocktail, before hopping up onto the stage. There, all members of the company prepped instruments and objects to be used for foley, adjusted microphones, or even began leading warm-ups on the piano, inviting the audience to sing along to Christmas music.

We soon learned that we were to fill the role of live studio audience for WMKE Playhouse of the Air’s broadcast, so we were to react as loudly as we pleased. Our role extended further into mid-show easter eggs, as well: accompanying each ad break were a few audience-written audiograms, collected pre-show. The concept of the show was executed with such enthusiasm from all cast members, that the energy infected into the audience. The cabaret was full of laughter, especially during the goofy original commercials, like the one for Miller High Life that felt very apropos for a Milwaukee radio station.

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Joy to Watch

The camaraderie between the actors—who were themselves playing actors cast in various roles for the station’s broadcast—was a joy to watch. Each member of the cast succeeded at making another laugh mid-show at least once, and as an ensemble, they captured the spirit of a tight-knit team of creatives intent on making a good piece of art. The amusing sidebars never tipped the scale into the realm of play-within-a-play, though: the focus always remained on the clarity of the story they were telling. 

Melinda Parrett made the microphone bend to her will—each new character she presented had a distinctive, fun voice, from the sultry Violet Bick to the boisterous and nosy mother of Mary Hatch to the sweet, stuffy-nosed Zuzu. Not to mention her use of a paint roller to provide the echo-y voice of God! Paired with her angel, Clarence (Wade Elkins), the duo made for engaging narrators. Elkins was expressive and charming, and to each character he played, including Harry Bailey, Sam Wainwright, and of course, Clarence, he brought his own unique spin.

Eva Nimmer and Daniel Arana had lovely chemistry as Mary and George, and they both—in separate and shared moments—stretched the boundaries of the audio drama and brought great physicality to their roles. Certainly while the concept of the show was well wrought, there was no lack of immersion: there were plenty of moments when I forgot I wasn’t watching a conventionally staged production, because the joy, disappointment, anger, and sorrow experienced onstage hit the audience just as hard.

As a holiday-lover who nevertheless had never felt particularly connected to It’s a Wonderful Life, I have to admit, I fell in love with the story while watching this performance. The build up to the finale left me overwhelmed—in the best way. I can’t think of a better way to kick off the Christmas season—with laughter, love that’s evident, and just a few tears. The upcoming shows in their season, rounding out the calendar year, are sure to be just as moving: Come from Away and the traditional A Christmas Carol.