The cast and crew of “The Last Christmas” are going to party like it’s 1999 and the audience is invited to feel the holiday joy. The world premiere play kicks off New City Players’ ninth season and is penned by Boynton Beach playwright, ensemble member, Foley and sound designer and former box office manager, Tyler Johnson Grimes. (“Foley” in the performing arts means recreating sound effects.)
Fans of NCP’s last two yuletide productions will recognize the setting and some cast members in this Noel play that takes place at the WNCP Radio studios with the show opening Saturday, Dec. 7 through Sunday, Dec. 22 at Island City Stage in Wilton Manors.
Much of the cast and crew were involved with “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” in 2022 and “A Christmas Carol” in 2023, according to Tim Davis, producing artistic director, who is also directing the current production.
This time It’s Christmas Eve 1999 and WNCP has a hit program “Calling Claire,” a radio show offering advice to anonymous callers.
NCP’s first yuletide play was set in 1947, the second in 1971. “The Last Christmas” begins on the cusp of the millennium with Y2K jitters, where cassettes and boom boxes dominate, says Davis.
On this Christmas Eve, the celebrity radio host has the night off. So Eve Hart (played by Marlo Vashti Rodriguez) has to take over the mic for the first time.
WNCP regulars and Broward County residents including Rodriguez, Carlos Alayeto, and Caroline Tarantolo are back, with newcomers to the WNCP Radio studios Casey Sacco, Susanna Ninomiya, Summer Davis, Harold Petion and Nick Valdes. Davis was born and raised in South Florida, lived in Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach and now makes his home in north Fort Lauderdale.
Meanwhile, Johnson Grimes went to high school in Fort Lauderdale, then it was off to New York but he recalls, “One December, I came back for two months. That was ten years ago.”
Grimes studied theater education at NYU, then was resident playwright and managing director of New York’s Distilled Theatre Company, where he wrote 49 radio plays that were performed as entertainment during intermission. Grimes Johnson returned to Florida and began teaching at the Lovewell Institute for the Creative Arts in Fort Lauderdale, where he had previously created original work as a student. He has been nominated for a Carbonell Award and won a Silver Palm Award last October for sound and Foley design.
Davis proudly says that the company is adding more originality as it develops the plays. Instead of Charles Dickens’ Victorian England, Johnson Grimes adapted “A Christmas Carol” and set it at a 1970s radio station.
“That was riskier than the first play because it had a lot of original elements. The next year, we thought, maybe this is a trilogy, make a totally original play and take the biggest risk yet,” says Davis.
Johnson Grimes prepared to write his original play by creating meticulously detailed backstories for every character from 1938 to 1998. (See the WNCP timeline).
He adds, “I write from the heart when it comes to Christmas plays. (Filmmaker Martin) Scorcese said, ‘Your job as an artist is to make the audience care about your obsession.’”
Johnson Grimes liked the idea of a radio station setting for two reasons; technology and psychology.
“In 1999, radio was the intersection of technology and communications and connection…The ‘90s were the last time radio was a means of connection for people worldwide when very soon this would go to the internet.”
“Johnson Grimes is fascinated with the time period where there was uncertainty around technology, he says, much like it is today and where he sees a parallel to the eras.
“Call-in radio shows reflect how sad and isolated some people can feel during the holidays. It takes a particular type of person to call into these radio shows and a certain type of loneliness to call a stranger and reach out,” he says.
The idea behind the show is that there are people calling in hoping to make a connection.
And there’s more action. “We’ve got commercials. You will see a Yeti and Santa Claus and a light saber battle,” says Johnson Grimes.
The playwright and director are excited about creating a production that not only entertains but imparts a warm, fuzzy feeling, as befits the season.
“I hope this show reminds everyone of all the things that all the great Christmas shows are about; the importance of family and connection,” says Davis.
Davis and Johnson Grimes are in sync on sharing holiday traditions, even while performing a brand-new production.
“A lot of people share an interest in Christmas, and we honor those traditions in the theater,” says Johnson Grimes. “We can go as dark as we want to get…knowing the end will get better. We also use humor. We want people to leave with warmth on a cold, winter night.”
Before heading to the theater, ticket buyers can request their favorite songs to be played before the show. But there are some rules to follow. This is the ‘90s. There’s no text or email so those who want to request a song must telephone the theater (954-376-6114) and speak to a live human being or leave a message. Faxing is not an option.
“We are doing that to give people another opportunity to involve themselves in our Christmas tradition,” says Johnson Grimes. There will also be talkbacks following every Sunday performance, carolers after the Friday night performances and a Secret Santa gift exchange following Saturday night shows.
Davis explains how serendipity and personal relationships have also played a part in assembling a cast and crew that makes for a sincere, heartfelt holiday play that resonates with the audience.
His fiancée, actor Casey Sacco, is in the ensemble and designs costumes, while his 11-year-old daughter, Summer Davis, will play Jennifer who wants someone to believe that she experienced something very unusual. What that something is audiences discover during the course of the show.
Davis adds, “One of Casey’s best friends is Tyler’s wife. We were born a week apart in 1990 and had both been in our high schools’ thespian clubs and competed at the same events, from different schools. It’s our first experience working together and it’s a very enjoyable collaboration. We have a shared history and friendship and respect each other as artists.”
The stars are aligning in yet another way.
“A decade ago, when I returned to Fort Lauderdale and began teaching theater, two of my earliest students were Rodriguez and Ninomiya. They are in the play and are now professional actors. That is indescribable,” says Johnson Grimes.
The actors say they appreciate the rare opportunity to have the playwright on set. Rodriguez says she is especially delighted to rehearse a new work with her former teacher.
“Normally we get the licensing to have the rights to do the play and we work with the director. But we usually do not have any communication with the person who created the story. So, to be in real time, rehearsing in front of Tyler Johnson Grimes and working with him; it really allows us to go and build even more into our story,” she says.
Johnson Grimes’ love of “all things ‘90s” and watching movies such as “Sleepless in Seattle” and television sitcoms like “Frasier,” “WKRP Cincinnati,” and listening to Orson Welles’ “War of the Worlds,” and most of all, silver voiced syndicated radio host Delilah inspired him.
Delilah Rene Luke has been on the air for 40 years, has eight million listeners and offers advice on her syndicated call-in show.
“I have specific memories of listening to Delilah. I grew up in Westchester, N.Y. and fell asleep to her show,” he says. “I am drawn to compassion. Delilah is not judging you, just listening, valuing and culminates with a handpicked song to help you feel better.”
Johnson Grimes also admires Howard Stern, who began as the “shock jock” of The Howard Stern Show in 1986 and has been on satellite radio Sirius XM since 2006.
“Howard Stern consumed a very long period in my life, elementary and middle school,” says Johnson Grimes. “When he got inappropriate, my stepdad changed the channel.”
Johnson Grimes hopes to bring the element of surprise that so drew him to call-in shows.
He adds, “. . . Who will be speaking that night? All those oddball personalities Stern had on were called the ‘Wack Pack.’”
While despite its name, “The Last Christmas” may not be the finale for WNCP Radio.
“We have said this is the end of the trilogy,” says Johnson Grimes. “However, we all are wondering if there are more possibilities. Lots of trilogies go on for several more episodes.”
“Star Wars” comes to mind.
“So much has gone into creating this unique world and we can expand it,” says Davis.
No decision yet, but could the next Christmas play have a 21st-century spin? A podcast perhaps?
IF YOU GO
WHAT: “The Last Christmas”
WHERE: Island City Stage, 2304 N. Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors
WHEN: Opens at 8 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7. Performances 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Through Dec. 22.
TICKETS: $40 for adults and $25 for students (under 25 with ID.)
