SCP is back but this time with the podcast “Find Us Alive” which follows the strange developments at Site-107, a small Foundation research site trapped inside dimensional anomaly SCP-6320, as narrated by the site’s radio operator, Dr. Harley. This week, premiere episodes “The Voice of 107” and “Dash 1”. It’s Audio Drama Time!
Dr. Mark Dreisonstok is back reviewing Sonic Society’s Christmas submissions with Sonic Cinema’s adaptation of “Gift of the Magi” and Markiewitz Audioworks production of “Three Christmas Trees”!
“Post Christmas” is how the Mutual Audio Network describes its January offering of a dramatized version of O. Henry’s classic Christmas tale, “The Gift of the Magi.” This story is a very familiar staple of American literature. A young couple of very modest means in circa 1905 New York City, Della and James Dillingham Young, aspire to give significant Christmas presents to each other. What sacrifices are they willing to make to accomplish this?
…the warmth of Christmas festivities and traditions which the two productions evoke lovingly and convincingly.
This familiar tale is dramatized for audio with aplomb, with Jeffrey Billard and Tanja Milojevic who are very good in their roles as the financially-strapped but loving couple. Producer Jack Ward, founder of the Mutual Audio Network and of a series of Christmas tales called “Christmas Wreath Anthology,” desired to adapt this O. Henry story—filled with description in its original literary form—to work well as an audio drama. To do so, Mr. Ward has expanded the role of one character in the story, Madam Lucyna Sofronie, now owner of a wig shop, and added one character, Mr. Kent Wilkins, who repairs clocks. These two interesting individuals, presumably in middle age, are performed adroitly by David Ault and Erika Sanderson as they help us reflect on the nature of young love, family relationships, and, of course, how the young couple’s gift exchange might play out at Christmastime. O. Henry was a master of the surprise ending, and this version has the famous short story author’s dénouement. While this portion of the ending is retained from O. Henry, the audio drama concludes not with the master storyteller’s ruminations about the meaning of gifts and the original Magi from the nativity narrative in Scripture, but rather on the budding romance between Madam Safronie and Mr. Wilkens, a bold but interesting change of focus.
O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi” is an extremely well-known Christmas tale—there is even a Disney cartoon adaptation, with Mickey and Minnie Mouse standing in as the young couple. The same level of fame cannot be claimed for “Three Christmas Trees“ by Juliana Horatia Ewing, another tale newly premiering on the Mutual Audio Network. This one is produced and directed by Jason Markiewitz who decided on a very different approach than the Jack Ward “Magi.” Instead of adding scenes and characters to make this a radio-style audio drama, he embraces the narrative of the original 1800s English short story, using voice actors mainly to highlight key portions of the story. The performance combines elements of both audio book and audio drama, perhaps slightly favoring the former.
The story follows the perspective of a person reaching the end of his earthly life, reflecting on how three Christmas trees have shaped his experience of Christmas, both as a child and as an adult. This is an interesting and unusual production of a Christmas-tide story which, in the opinion of this reviewer, should be better known. Mr. Markiewitz, who also serves as the congenial narrator, uses sound choices—especially some magnificent Christmas carolers (Sharon Grunwald, Lessa Nosko, and Kyle Wright) to help render this story from the past more accessible to audiences of today. Such is the case with his choice of a Christmas carol which is sung in two of the three vignettes, “While Shepherds Watch Their Flocks By Night”—a hymn which is used in the production movingly to bind the Christmas of the protagonist’s youth to the Christmas of his old age.
Both “The Gift of the Magi” and “Three Christmas Trees” are well worth a listen, even in this “post-Christmas” season. They are reminders that we might return to the holiday spirit and once again bask in the warmth of Christmas festivities and traditions which the two productions evoke lovingly and convincingly.
Running time: Each production runs 30 minutes.
The Jack Ward “Christmas Wreath Anthology” series installment “The Gift of the Magi” can be found here. The Markiewitz Audioworks production of “Three Christmas Trees” may be heard here.
While we are partial to the initial SCP at Sonic Cinema Productions, we don’t have the monopoly on those three-letters and Midnight Disease productions has some great audio using them.
Secure. Contain. Protect. There are things that go bump in the night. Fantastic things. Horrible things. Redacted things. The SCP Foundation was built to keep humanity safe from a world of beings it doesn’t want to know exists. Things of wonder. Things of destruction. And these things have files. A LOT of files. This week on the Society we feature SCP Archives “Stairwell” and “Plague Doctor”! It’s AUDIO DRAMA TIME!
It’s a late Christmas present as Jack and David present the last (or is it first) Sonic Cinema Production of the year with Jack’s own rendition of O. Henry’s “Gift of the Magic” paired like fine wine with part one of the holiday special “Moonbase Hope Colony” from Privy Projects Productions. Happy New Year everyone!
HAPPY CHRISTMAS FROM ALL OF US AT THE SONIC SOCIETY AND THE MUTUAL AUDIO NETWORK!
This week we’re thrilled to provide a little Christmas spirit with The Holiday Spirit from Will Anderson and Stacey Pattison, and a retelling of the classic A Gift of the Magi from Odyssey Audioworks and Richard Summers, Tanja Milojevich, Josh Price, and Amy Price. All the very best to you!
We here at the Sonic Society are unabashed fans of Re-imagined Radio and our mutual partnership with Mutual! Last year, they produced a Christmas Sampler that Monday Matinee had on in August. We’d like to kindly restore it to the season here all of which features selections from Christmas episodes of radio programs like Suspense, Rocky Fortune, The Damon Runyon Theatre, The Jack Benny Program, Bing Crosby and The Kraft Music Hall, Vic and Sade, and the 2020 recorded performance of “A Radio Christmas Carol” by Metropolitan Performing Arts! Joyeux Noel!
Jack and David are back with a fun-filled Sonic Society potpourri including episodes 1-3 of The Haunting of Selene from Misfits Audio written by our dear friend Alexa Chipman and post-produced by Jake Lewsey, followed by Barjory Bufffet: The Cruise Detective “Probably Claus” by Brad Beideman, and finally “Titch and the Enchanted Snow Globe” from Lie Hard with a Vengeance Podcast produced by Paul Blakeley and Rick Allden!
Jack and David bring in the season with the last two episodes of “Saint” Nick and the Big F*ck Up written and performed by Phil Rickaby and the Scare Fighters 3 Holiday Special- Solitary Place of Residence, written by Max Brown and Produced by Joe Wilkinson!
Jack is once again solo and feeling a seasonal cold as he tries to bring in another season with “Saint” Nick and the Big F*ck Up is a hilarious, heartbreaking, and heartwarming Christmas audio drama with the first four of six episodes about a part-time mall Santa’s ability to mess everything up, written and performed by Phil Rickaby.
Re-Imagined Radio has celebrated the anniversary of “The War of the Worlds” several times by re-telling the story. This year, on Devil’s Night and the occasion of its 84th anniversary, Jack and David play their explorations into the radio storytelling that may have influenced Orson Welles’s radio adaptation of the 1898 novel by H. G. Welles. In addition to samples from these earlier radio stories, interviews with Welles provide additional insight for this episode, “The War of the Worlds: Possible Influences.”
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