By LESLIE WILLIAMS-DENNIS
Chronicle Correspondent

The first broadcast of Radio City Sugar Land debuts at First Colony Church of Christ with a flashback to the 1940s and a poignant Christmas message.

Winter’s Eve, 1948, a production set to the theme of an old-time radio show, will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the First Colony Church of Christ worship center, 2140 First Colony Blvd. in Sugar Land.

Tubes of Brylcreem hair gel and an assortment of .22-caliber blanks are among the top items needed to perform the skits, commercials and musical selections compiled by the 20-member cast.

What it is about

The two-hour program is hosted by fictional radio announcer Jack Caraway and follows a family struggling to attain the perfect Christmas present, despite having limited financial resources.

Click on the image above to get more information about First Colony Church of Christ.“There’s sort of a materialism theme throughout the play,” said Andy Pace, lead actor and scriptwriter of two-part production.

Pace, who plays an assortment of characters ranging from Caraway to Batman and Robin, said the performance tackles the concepts of greed and envy in both spiritual and secular ways.

The production pokes fun at the stereotypical belief system of the 1940s, and includes selections from Bing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters and Mel Torme.

Pace, a kindergarten teacher at Barrington Place Elementary in Sugar Land and a church member, said he wrote the 12-page script two months ago with the assistance of others in his congregation.

Designed to teach true meaning of Christmas

The storyline includes advertisements for products, such as Pepsodent and Black Jack soda, and is designed to educate the community about the true meaning behind the holiday season.

“Just like we all do, the parents get wrapped up in what they have and what they don’t have and they get reeled in by the commercials,” Pace, 34, said.

Greg Boyle, worship minister, said more than 1,500 people are expected to attend the annual Christmas production.

The event is comprised of entertainment, visits with Santa and a catered intermission, and includes traditional Christmas music performed by the First Colony Chorus in the second half of the show.

Boyle, show producer and church member since 2002, said the main focus of the evening centers around providing charity in the community to others who are less fortunate.

As the plot in the radio show advances toward a house fire in the fictional community, characters learn that assisting their neighbors provides more Christmas joy than obtaining tangible gifts.

Concept usually gets pushed to the side

Boyle said the concept is one that transcends every faith or belief, yet often gets pushed to the wayside as the holiday season progresses.

“We’re trying to give a little more spiritual and community thought to Christmas,” Boyle said. “Also, we’re trying to help mold and shape the idea that at Christmastime, it’s very good to think about others.”

Boyle said that the church, which originally formed at an elementary school in First Colony in 1985, has been producing Winter’s Eve themed productions continuously in the eight years that he has attended.

The current production will be the third performance to occur in the newly constructed worship center, which opened just prior to Easter and lies adjacent to the Family life Center.

At least 20 percent of the proceeds raised from the event will benefit the Second Mile Mission Center in Stafford, a nonprofit, faith-based organization that provides food, clothing, health and financial assistance to 150,000 people each year in Fort Bend County.

Tickets range from $5 to $15.

“When people leave, I think they’ll leave a little warmer than when they came in,” Pace said. “I hope for a little bit of a perspective shift that will make the audience’s holiday season just a lot easier to handle.”

For more information, call 281-980-7070 or visit www.FirstColonyChurch.org.

WANT TO GO?
What: “Radio City Sugar Land — Winter’s Eve, 1948”
When: 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Where: First Colony Church of Christ, 2140 First Colony Blvd. in Sugar Land
Benefit: Twenty percent of the proceeds raised will benefit Second Mile Mission Center in Stafford
Details: Call 281-980-7070 or visit www.FirstColonyChurch.org.