BWW Stage Mag It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play - Sieminski Theater Stage Mag

It's A Wonderful Life:
A Live Radio Play

by: Joe Landry
 
 
Directed by:
Joseph Discher*
 
 
Starring
 
Michael Daly *
Erica Knight *
Aaron Michael McDaniel*
Hannah Mount
Tim Nicolai *
Joelle Zazz 
 
 
Production Stage Manager 
Griffin O'Connor * 
 
Technical Director 
Benjamin Merrick
 
 

Production Manager
Catherine "Cat" Murphy
 
Costume Designer
Isabella Rossi
 
Madeline Leong
Wardrobe
 
 
Sound Designer
Travis Wright

Lighting Designer
Levi Morici
 

                   

American Theater Group
would like to offer special thanks to
William Reyes, Victoria Duncker, Sal Terrezza 
and the dedicated staff of the DMK Theater. 

 

A special thanks to Diann Duthie for the radio logo design.

 

ATG would like to acknowledge that we are on land originally occupied by the Lenape people.

 

It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play is presented by arrangement with Dramatists Play Service. www.dramatists.com

                                   

* member of Actors' Equity Association                                         
 

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Cast

Michael Daly *
Freddy Filmore as Mr. Potter and others
Erica Knight*
Sally Applewhite as Mary Hatch and others
Aaron Michael McDaniel *
Jake Laurents as George Bailey
Hannah Mount
Peggy Daniels -- Foley Artist
Tim Nicolai *
Harry "Jazzbo" Heywood as Clarence Oddbody and others
Joelle Zazz
Lana Sherwood as Violet Bick and others

Creative Team

Joseph Discher *

Director

Griffin O'Connor *

Production Stage Manager

Catherine (Cat) Murphy

Production Manager

Travis Joseph Wright

Sound Designer

Isabella Rossi

Costume Designer

Benjamin Merrick

Technical Director

Levi Morici

Lighting Designer

Madeline Leong

Wardrobe

Meet the Company

Michael Daly *

Freddy Filmore as Mr. Potter and others
Michael Daly * - Freddy Filmore as Mr. Potter and others Michael Daly's credits include Stephano in Shakespeare's The Tempest - A Surround Sound Odyssey with Knock-At-The-Gate Productions. Other credits include Greater Tuna and Pericles (Utah Shakespearean Festival), Peter Pan and Windy City (Walnut Street Theater, Philadelphia), The Irish...And How They Got That Way (Fulton Theater, PA), The Weir and A Skull in Connemara (Milwaukee Rep). Michael also performed for several seasons at the Florida Studio Theater, the Pennsylvania and Orlando Shakespeare Festivals, and the Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey. Television roles include Ron the Copy Guy in Mindy Kaling’s upcoming Hulu series "Not Suitable for Work," Warner Brother’s "Gotham," and HBO's "The Undoing."

Erica Knight*

Sally Applewhite as Mary Hatch and others
Erica Knight* - Sally Applewhite as Mary Hatch and others Erica Knight is absolutely delighted to join ATG! Select theatre: Sylvia (Sylvia), Sense & Sensibility (Elinor) and Winter Street (Ava) for Theatre Workshop of Nantucket, Charley’s Aunt (Kitty) for the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Harvey (Nurse Kelly), and The Nether (Detective Morris), for Centenary Stage Company. Select TV: “Gossip Girl”; “One Life to Live.” She is the playwright/performer of her solo piece, ‘Ghost Dance,’ which premiered last spring at the Bridge Street Theatre. She holds a BFA from Marymount Manhattan College and is pursuing her MA in Shakespeare with The University of Birmingham.

Aaron Michael McDaniel *

Jake Laurents as George Bailey
Aaron Michael McDaniel * - Jake Laurents as George Bailey Aaron Michael McDaniel is thrilled to join this production in his first show with ATG! Credits include Off Broadway: The Woodsman (59E59/New World Stages), Miss Lily Gets Boned (New Ohio), Macbeth (Gym at Judson Church) Shakespeare Theater of NJ: Enchanted April, The Bungler, A Man for All Seasons, Tartuffe, Charlie's Aunt, Love's Labour's Lost. Film/TV: Death Streamer (dir. Charlie Band), Collide (dir. Dan Phan), The Food That Built America (sn4ep12). Fight choreography: Newsies! The Musical! (Papermill Playhouse, Nederlander), Alladin! The Musical! (Mirvish, New Amsterdam), Nothing Can Take You From The Hand Of God (Playwrights Horizons). BFA SUNY Purchase. aaronmcd.com

Hannah Mount

Peggy Daniels -- Foley Artist
Hannah Mount - Peggy Daniels -- Foley Artist Hannah Mount (she/they) is thrilled to be returning to the foley table after the 2018 edition of “It’s A Wonderful Life” at the Mile Square Theatre. Hannah has toured up and down the east coast singing, dancing, acting, and playing piano for countless productions. Favorite roles include Carrie White (Carrie the Musical), Maria von Trapp (The Sound of Music), Grace Farrell (Annie Warbucks), Dory (Dory Fantasmagory) and Deb (Elf the Musical). When not performing, Hannah is the Assistant Director at the Bach to Rock Music School in Port Washington, NY and coaches theatre students at PACE University in Manhattan.

Tim Nicolai *

Harry "Jazzbo" Heywood as Clarence Oddbody and others
Tim Nicolai * - Harry Tim Nicolai is an actor, director, and educator at Dobbins Conservatory at SEMO. His performance credits include The Glass Menagerie (Broadway); Othello, The Tempest, and Cymbeline (Shakespeare in the Park); Hamlet (Shakespeare Theater Company); and The Grapes of Wrath and Romeo & Juliet (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey). TV: Prodigal Son (FOX), Search Party (TBS), Z: The Beginning of Everything (Amazon), FBI: Most Wanted, The Good Fight, Madam Secretary, and EVIL (CBS). He is co-founder of SOCIETY, a NYC-based ensemble creating new work through the Joint Stock Method. TRAINING: NYU Grad Acting, Southeast Missouri State.

Joelle Zazz

Lana Sherwood as Violet Bick and others
Joelle Zazz - Lana Sherwood as Violet Bick and others Joelle Zazz (they/she) is a multidisciplinary artist, born and raised in NJ and is thrilled to once again be part of "It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play" after performing in it at Mile Square Theatre in 2018. New York: “The Lightning Thief TYA” (original cast; Five Angels Theatre), “Tale of Two Cities: the Musical”, (10th Anniversary Broadway concert). Tours: The Lightning Thief TYA (original tour cast). Regional: Premiere Stages, Centenary Stage Company, The Shakespeare Theatre of NJ, Speranza Theatre Company, NJ Rep, and more. Rep: The Luedtke Agency NYC.

Joseph Discher *

Director
Joseph Discher * - Director Joseph Discher has worked off-Broadway and with regional theaters across the country. The New York Times has called his work “devastatingly effective,” “enchanting,” and “beautiful.” His Off-Broadway credits include: Butler (NYC premiere at 59E59) and world premieres of The Violin (59E59) and Vilna (St. Clement’s Theatre). He is the former Associate Artistic Director of Shakespeare Theatre of NJ. Selected credits include The Diary of Anne Frank, To Kill a Mockingbird, Our Town, Henry IV: Part One, The Tempest, Amadeus, Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet and Wittenberg. He is the Artistic Director and co-founder of Knock At The Gate, which creates immersive audio experiences of Shakespeare’s work. Knock At The Gate productions: The Tempest: A Surround Sound Odyssey Sound Odyssey, Caesar: A Surround Sound Experiment and Macbeth: A Surround Sound Experiment, which was featured on Good Day New York and NPR, and in American Theatre Magazine. www.joedischer.com.

Griffin O'Connor *

Production Stage Manager
Griffin O'Connor is a NJ based stage manager who dabbles in directing for fun. Some of O’Connor's previous works include Our Town (PSM) at American Theater Group; Alibi: An Agatha Christie Story (ASM) at Bristol Riverside Theatre; It’s a Wonderful Life the Radio Play (SM) at The Theatre Project (two consecutive years); and In The Mix (ASM) at Vivid Stage. He has also Directed Proof, Midsummer Night’s Dream, and 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, among others at Bucks Rock Camp. He would like to thank his friends and family for always supporting him through every step of his journey.

Catherine (Cat) Murphy

Production Manager
Cat Murphy is thrilled to be part of this production.

Travis Joseph Wright

Sound Designer
Travis Joseph Wright is a New York City-based sound designer and engineer. Their work focuses on building detailed soundscapes that envelop the audience in the world of the play. Recent regional theatre credits include "Purlie" (American Theater Group), "The Wizard of Oz," (Constellation Stage & Screen), "Water by the Spoonful," (Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center), "Hard Candy and Misdemeanors," (Troy Foundry Theatre). You can see their work in the upcoming production of "Ascend" at Point Park University.

Isabella Rossi

Costume Designer
Isabella Rossi Is a multidisciplinary theater artist based in New Jersey and New York. Other credits include Our Town for American Theater Group, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie with NYU Tisch, Balm and Gileadwith NYU Tisch, Orlando with Rutgers Theater Company, Candide with Rutgers Opera.

Benjamin Merrick

Technical Director
Benjamin Merrick is proud to return to American Theater Group for another production. He is currently the Technical Director and an Adjunct Professor for Montclair State University's Theatre and Dance Department where he has taught for 13 years. He has previously worked with Crossroads Theatre Company, MAYO Performing Arts Center, Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey, New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players, New Jersey Youth Theater, City Theatrical Inc., Yale Repertory Theatre, The Hartford Stage Company, and Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Ben actively freelances in technical theatre alongside his wife through their company Merrick Production Services. He received his MFA from the Yale School of Drama.

Levi Morici

Lighting Designer
Levi Morici graduated from Montclair State University with a BFA in Theater Design, Technology, & Management. His Previous credits include: John Jay College "The Lysistrata Project," New York Theater Ballet's "Firebird Tour" 2024 & 2025, The Montclair Dance Festival, Faith Center Arts "Into the Woods," MSU's "Sophisticated Ladies," "Anyone Can Whistle," as well as having designed for choreographers including Stefanie Batten Bland, Maxine Steinman, Jessica Dimauro, Christian Von Howard, Kathleen Kelly, Tommie-Waheed Evans, Brice Mousset, Michelle Manzanales, Hollis Barlett, and Donna Scro.

Madeline Leong

Wardrobe
A recent graduate of Sacred Heart University and Stella Adler Studio of Acting, Madeline is thrilled to be working on her second production with ATG. While in university, Madeline explored numerous areas of theatrical production such as directing, stage management, and lighting design. Some of her notable past positions on collegiate productions include Fun Home and Peter and the Starcatcher (lighting designer), and The Rocky Horror Show (asst. director). Madeline would like to thank friends and family for supporting her theatrical dreams.

About American Theater Group

 

American Theater Group (ATG), founded in 2012, produces new and classic works primarily by American playwrights with an emphasis on the development of new works and the reimagining of undeservedly neglected older ones. It also provides quality arts-in-education initiatives, including its annual Drama Fest for high school students and its PlayLab program for BIPOC and queer playwrights.. Programming also made possible by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. More information can be found at         www.americantheatergroup.org.

 

James Vagias
Producing Artistic Director and Co-founder

Joseph A. Mancuso, Co-founder    Rick Sordelet, Co-founder

 

American Theater Group is led by an exemplary working Board of Directors comprised of leaders from the Broadway community as well as a variety of business industries:

 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Steve Schnall, Board President

Diane L. Parker, Board Co-Vice President

Alan Roseman, Board Co-Vice President

Diane Blanc Ryan, Secretary

Adam Loehner, Treasurer

Dr. Zenon Christodoulou
Joseph and Marie Krueger
Paul LoSacco
Alyson Nash
Madhu Pai
Michele Pawk
Stephen Rodner
Robert Jess Roth
Chris Smith
Larry Sobin
Lynne B. Whitman
Mary Beth Wilmit

 

 

COMING FEBRUARY/MARCH 2026

 

 

 

American Theater Group could not exist without those who have given generously to support quality live theater. We are profoundly grateful to them for their faith and support. If you wish to support ATG, please click here.

or send your gift to:

American Theater Group

c/o  57 Farms Road Circle

East Brunswick, NJ 08816

 

 

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