Wheaton Drama is casting "Miracle on 34th Street" as a 1940s live radio broadcast at Playhouse 111 this holiday season.

Auditions run Nov. 8 and Nov. 9 from 7 to 9 p.m. at 111 N. Hale St. in Wheaton. Callbacks, if needed, are scheduled for Nov. 10 at the same time. Slots are taken every 20 minutes on a first-come, first-served basis, and interested actors must email the production team to sign up. Sides will be sent once a slot is confirmed.

Director Ben Dooley, who has directed and produced more than 100 old-time radio recreations, is leading the production. The audition notice describes a format built entirely on voice, music and sound effects. Characters are heightened and slightly exaggerated, and most roles do not require memorization.

The show is seeking 10 to 14 men, four to six women and children ages 8 to 12.

The Jingle Sisters have already been cast.

Key roles include Kris Kringle, Doris Walker, Fred Gailey, Susan Walker and a Host who opens the radio broadcast. Smaller roles will be double- and triple-cast. The audition notice sets a high bar for Kris Kringle, calling for an actor audiences will believe could be Santa, modeled on what Edmund Gwenn brought to the original film. Other roles allow more flexibility.

Because the show is set in the 1940s, actors must be willing to adjust hair and grooming to fit the period.

Performances are scheduled for mid-to-late December at Playhouse 111. The audition notice lists Dec. 17 through Dec. 20, though Wheaton Drama's show listings indicate a Dec. 18–20 window. The theater's box office can confirm dates at 630-260-1820.

Wheaton Drama is also holding auditions for a second show the same Nov. 8–9 weekend. "Into the Breeches!," a World War II comedy about women keeping a community theater alive while the men are at war, auditions Nov. 8 from 6 to 9:30 p.m. on the main stage and Nov. 9 from 6 to 9:30 p.m. in the lower level. Performances run Jan. 22 through Feb. 7, 2027. Actors interested in both shows can plan around the overlapping schedule.

Wheaton Drama, founded in 1931, is one of the oldest continuously operating community theaters in the Chicago area. Both productions are part of the company's 2026–2027 season, "Ordinary People, Extraordinary Moments."

The read-through for "Miracle on 34th Street" is set for Nov. 14 at 1 p.m. at Playhouse 111.