Butler Little Theatre brought its latest offering, “It’s a Wonderful Life — A Radio Play,” by Joe Landry to the boards Friday night. It seemed to be well received by the audience.

It had all the nostalgia of the Frank Capra original but “watching” an audio performance took a bit to get used to. It’s not typical to “see” actors with scripts or “see” sound effects being created.

I thought it would distract from the story, but in the end, it just made it a unique theatre experience.

With only five actors portraying all the characters and the sound effects, much of the acting took place between the vocal chords.

Stephan Lingenfelter of Butler Township took on the role of George Bailey and did a commendable job as the loveable loaner. His wife Mary was played by Katy Closkey Wayne. They had wonderful chemistry with each other vocally and Katy was fun to watch in her sound effect efforts.

Jerry Johnston did a wonderful job at playing many of the male characters and provided excellent variety in his characterizations. His announcer role was classic Johnston.

The commercials during the radio show were comical and fun to see and hear. The audience got to participate in the show as well, which was a lot of fun. Several times I closed my eyes not to doze but to just listen to the drama unfolding before my ears.

Most of the women’s voices and the children were played by Stephanie Kobil. She also contributed to the sound effects, which were quite interesting. The sounds of shoes crunching on snow, a busy meal or someone falling into the river all had to be created on stage using devices and props.

Jud Michael Stewart played many of the male voices and did a wonderful job as Clarence.

Don’t be fooled by the radio show concept. There is a lot of action on the set as they all vie for microphones and props.

The show ran surprisingly smoothly with all the actors hitting their cues. Phil Ball proved he was up to the challenge as the director.

The production is a unique way to enjoy theatre and a wonderful way to get into the holiday spirit.