Free Christmas Audio Drama from Lamplighter Theatre, The Unlikely Wise Man

Lamplighter Ministries recently produced a live performance of an audio play at their headquarters in Mt. Morris, New York. Originally planned to be a live presentation for a local audience only, a last-minute decision was made to record a studio version as well. The studio recording was then quickly produced and has now been made available to listen to for free for a limited time.

The Unlikely Wise Man is the story of a stingy uncle, a lost child, and a clever butler. Adapted from a book titled Bells Across the Snow by Fannie Eden, the script was written by Molly Mayo and Mark Hamby. The sound design was done by Allen Hurley and the original score was composed by John Campbell. The final mix has a runtime of just under an hour.

Rachel Marley Corral, Rich Swingle & Angelina SantaLucia
Photo courtesy Rich Swingle

"It's a story of redemption the whole family will enjoy," says Lamplighter Ministries' Sarah Prenevost, who was also a member of the cast. She explained that the studio version of the production was recorded on December 11th and 12th and the live performance was presented on the evening of the 12th. "This drama is living proof that Christmas miracles still happen! A process that normally takes months, took place in just one week in order to make this story available to listeners in time for Christmas." She said that the production will be available for free until December 31, 2020.

"For the [live] radio show, we performed it the way they did back in the '30s," says actor Rich Swingle, who plays the lead role of Robert Redfern. "We were dressed in period costumes and had minimal blocking around four mics. Foley artists created the sounds before the audience's eyes! One of the foley artists, Oscar Corral, also played a couple of roles, so when he 'entered the house,' I ran over to the foley corner and created his footsteps! It was SO MUCH FUN!!!"

Mark Hamby, Lamplighter Theatre Executive Producer, shared some background on the production in a email sent out to radio stations that will be airing the show. "A little over a month ago God brought this cozy fireside story into our hands and we knew immediately that we had been given a treasure," he said. "However, in order to produce a world-class audio drama to be aired on radio in time for Christmas, we knew it would take a miracle. And a miracle we received! This story is reminiscent of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, but with much more eternal value and a heartwarming surprise ending."

The Unlikely Wise Man Trailer

Lamplighter Ministries · The Unlikely Wise Man (Preview)

Cast List

Robert Redfern - Rich Swingle
Rebecca Redfern - Sarah Prenevost
Thomas Redfern, Narrator, Porter - David Sanborn
Toddle - Angelina SantaLucia
Polly - Gracie Mayo
Daisy, Marjorie - Rachel Marley Corral
Jack - Oscar Corral
James - Brian Kirk

You can listen to The Unlikely Wise Man for free at unlikelywiseman.com through the end of the year. You are also encouraged to share the link with your friends and family and the Lamplighter team has even provided graphics and printable PDF cards to make it easy to do so. You can find those resources at this link.

For other Christmas productions from Lamplighter Theatre, check out The Candle in the Window, Buried in the Snow, and You Are There: Christmas on the Lamplighter website.