Features Editor

Even people who don’t remember the golden era of the radio will have a chance to experience it tonight when Troy Broadcasting Corp. presents the WTBF Radio Players in Charles Dickens’ "A Christmas Carol."

The Christmas classic will be broadcast live at 7 p.m. from the Adams Center Ballroom on the campus of Troy State University and can be heard on WTBF 94.7.

"Those who come to the ‘old fashioned radio theater’ will be able to see how a live broadcast was done during the golden age of radio," said Doc Kirby, director of the program. "Because it is radio, we have no need for costumes but a great need for sound effects. Anyone who has never been in a studio for a live radio broadcast should find it very interesting and entertaining."

Those who choose, instead, to pull a chair up to the radio like in the old days, will also have a unique experience.

Deciding how to "listen" to Dickens could be difficult because either way promises to be a special Christmas "gift."

The "Christmas Carol" was adapted for radio by Jan Hemmer and is an hour in length. However, just as in the old days, the program will be interrupted for commercial breaks.

Jason Ramsey, who plays Scrooge, said putting on a radio play has been interesting and enlightening and he thinks tonight’s audience will find the experience exactly the same.

"A live radio broadcast is different from a stage performance," he

said. "You have to captivate the audience without any visual effects. Voices, sound effects and music – that’s it. It’s going to be fun and I hope as meaningful for our audience as it is for us."

The cast includes Doc Kirby as the narrator; Ramsey as Scrooge; Ray Crosby as Cratchet; Scott Kirby as Fred; Dick Hawk as Marley; Clara Proctor as the Ghost of Christmas Past; Chuck Faulkinberry as Fezzwig; Dan Mosley as Dick; Jim Roling as Ghost of Christmas Present; Clara Proctor as Mrs. Cratchet; Christian Crosby as Tiny Tim; and Alex Adams as boy in the street.

There is no admission charge to the live broadcast, however, a donation of at least one canned food item is requested. The canned food will be donated to the local Salvation Army Food Bank.