Welcome from our Executive Director
Welcome to the Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture’s production of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.
I’m happy to welcome you here to the retelling of this classic American story, a story that has woven its way into the Christmas traditions of so many homes throughout our country.
Tonight’s performance features many of our own full-time staff, who normally fulfill other roles within our organization, and it’s a joy to see their theatre-backgrounds being showcased in this production.
Thank you for being here. Please enjoy the show, and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Cheers,
Lawrence Daufenbach
Founder & Executive Director
Director’s Note
Ho Ho Ho! I am so glad you’re able to come out tonight and see It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play! tonight at the Athenaeum. When I was asked to work on this project, I was honored to get to direct an adaptation of one of my favorite movies—It’s a Wonderful Life. I first watched this movie (in black and white of course!) and instantly felt the Christmas spirit. As George Bailey teaches us, sometimes circumstances in life can make the holidays hard for many—but that a kind heart goes a long way in making the world a better place. This lesson is taught all over the Christmas canons around us—A Christmas Carol, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, and my favorite, A Muppet Christmas Carol, “No Cheeses for us Meeces!”
Be Kind. Be Loving. Be You.
I and everyone at the Athenaeum hope that you enjoy the show, that you have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year to you and yours.
Therrin J Eber
Cast
Matt Schufreider as Jake Laurens
Genevieve Swanson as Sally Applewhite
Alex Albrecht as Freddie Filmore
Zara McCord as Lana Sherwood
Tim Dough as Harry “Jazzbo” Heywood
Emmett Wickersham as Live Foley Artist
Creative Team
Directed by Therrin Eber
Lighting Design by Sam Anderson
Sound Design / Operation by Andrew Nagoda
Stage Manager Voiceover by Emmett Wickersham
Special thanks to Good Old Days Antiques on Belmont for props!
This performance has no intermission.
The bar is open throughout the show.
Location: Paradiso @ Athenaeum Center - Chicago IL
Cast Bios
Matt Schufreider is delighted to be doing this show. Previously he worked with Oil Lamp Theatre, Prairie Arts Center, Jedlicka Performing Arts, and Alphabet Soup Productions. He is also a longtime childrens theatre performer with Chicago Kids Company. He hopes you enjoy the show and have a happy holidays. Thank you for supporting live theatre.
Genevieve Swanson is a director, writer, producer, performer, and administrator based in Chicago. She most recently assistant directed Dante 360 at the Athenaeum Center. Her other recent works include Innocent (Pocket Theatre VR), Last Day (Rhino Fest), and Petunia’s (Pocket PlayFest ’22). She is currently the Literary Manager at Pocket Theatre VR and an Events Manager here at the Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture.
Alex Albrecht is so excited to be doing “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Radio Play” for the first time at the Athenaeum. He is a graduate of the University of Alaska Anchorage and The Portland Actors Conservatory. Select Credits: Hamlet (Salt and Sage, OR), Measure for Measure (Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, MT), Night of the Hunter (City Lit Theatre, IL), Gruesome Playground Injuries (Salt and Sage, OR). He hopes you enjoy the show!
Zara McCord (Lana Sherwood) is geeked to be hitting the stage at the Athenaeum Center for her first time. She is currently based out of New York City but is having a blast working in the Windy City on this production!
She recently made her television debut on ‘The Daily Show’ alongside guest host, Leslie Jones. She enjoys doing devised work as seen in her self-written piece titled, ‘Zara McCord’s One Person Show’ which premiered in Indianapolis Storefront Theatre in April. A recent graduate from Ball State University receiving her BFA in Acting and minor in Marketing, some of Zara’s credits include; The Moors, Significant Other, Roe, and The Children’s Hour.
Outside of acting, Zara enjoys visiting her family’s wiener dogs, playing live music, the color red, and collecting memorabilia from various fast food restaurant chains.
Zara would like to express her gratitude to Therrin for the opportunity to be a part of the storytelling team for this production. Zara also wants to give a wink wink to YOU for being here today!
Tim Kough is ecstatic to be performing in It’s a Wonderful Life for the fourth time. He is an actor, musician, songwriter, audiobook narrator and playwright. Favorite roles include Harry Truman in Truman and the Birth of Israel, Snelgrave in One Flea Spare and Zhdanov in Master Class. His albums Blurrr and Dreams and Demons have sold across the globe. Tim is a founding member of Authentic Chicago Ensemble and his play, Safe Landing: How the Owls Saved Me is slated for production in the Summer 2024.
