Though “It’s a Wonderful Life” was originally released in 1948, members of Yelm’s Standing Room Only (SRO) Theater brought the holiday season classic back to life in front of 170 spectators while recording a downloadable broadcast of the event.
Members of the community-built SRO Theater presented “It’s a Wonderful Life” as a live radio show on Saturday, Dec. 9 at Yelm Outpost Church.
Steve Harshfield, president of Standing Room Only, said the two radio shows exceeded the organization’s expectations.
“We’re thrilled by the community support,” Harshfield said. “This show was a wonderful collaboration between SRO, the Outpost Church, Castle Realty and Gordon’s Garden Center, and involved more than 20 people on our cast and crew. It’s a real testament to the power of community.”
Kamylle Sprenger, who played Mary Hatch-Bailey in SRO’s performances of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” said the group met several times a week to prepare. She said if the cast ran into any issues, they’d hammer through them while actively searching for feedback to create a “good product.”
She said SRO Theater’s performances are “casual, chill-out shows,” stating they weren’t too choreographed and something the group was there to just enjoy together.
“As someone who had never seen ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ before this, it’s a Christmas story, but it’s not necessarily a happy one,” Sprenger said. “It’s not just all Christmas lights and rainbows.”
Wes Williams, who played George Bailey in SRO’s performances of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” said the film and radio shows are emotional roller coasters.
“It’s a movie that shows a lot of different aspects of the human condition,” Williams said. “From the highest highs to the lowest lows, that’s what the movie represented.”
Sprenger has been a member of SRO Theater since she was in high school. Her first production with the group was “Mamma Mia!” in 2019.
“I really love how SRO, the community theater, touches everyone from the kids here, to the kids in high school here, to the older folks that want to be involved,” Sprenger said. “I took a break during the few years of COVID, but I came back because Dawn (Young), our director for production, reached out. She’s had a really positive impact on me through high school and young adult-ness. She’s been really helpful around, and I wanted to help out in any way that I can. I love theater.”
Williams has no prior experience on a stage before the performances of “It’s a Wonderful Life” and said he was inspired to join SRO Theater because he wanted to do something different and “expand the envelope a little bit.”
“We’re all friends in a small town. We’re amateurs. This is the first time I’ve ever been on a stage,” Williams said. “It’s a platform to expand what you do, do something different, make new friends and be a part of the community.”
The two were both thrilled with the turnout of the shows.
“We knew we were going to have at least 70 people who had pre-bought tickets, and then more came through the door to purchase. We had a goal of 150 people,” Sprenger said. “As someone who has performed in front of larger crowds before, it just means people really spread the word — especially in a small community. It really means a lot, especially after years of turbulence with the COVID pandemic. Knowing they’ll come back to support us is very nice.”
Williams added, “I was really stoked about the turnout and thrilled that people are supporting community theater. I’m very happy to be a part of it.”
Harshfield said SRO Theater aims to continue building off its recent success to bring more theater and art to the Nisqually Valley. SRO Theater is looking forward to what 2024 brings, he added.
Harshfield said the live radio recording of “It’s a Wonderful Life” will be released in the next week on the SRO website, https://www.srotheater.org/.
