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Play Review
The advantage of this device is built-in audience recognition. The downside is the inevitable comparison to the original and the challenge to recreate a largecast movie with multiple sets on a small stage. The Santa Paula Theater Center is now presenting “It’s a Wonderful Life” at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center. The play was adapted by James W. Rogers from the 1946 film directed by Frank Capra and written by Philip Van Doren Stern, Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra, Jo Swerling and Michael Wilson. I wondered how this group would meet the challenge of duplicating the beloved holiday classic. The result is what I’d call “stripped-down theater” or “Wonderful Life Lite.” Different locations are suggested on the bare stage by a piece or two of furniture or a front door rolled on and off the stage. The audience has to work harder to imagine the setting, but this minimalist approach works because scene changes are fast, allowing the story to proceed with little interruption. The show opens in the everytown of Bedford Falls on Christmas Eve in the 1940s, as businessman, father and husband George Bailey (Michael German) is about to take his own life. The family business is facing scandal, bankruptcy and ruin, and he may end up in jail. George’s guardian angel, Clarence (Don Pearlman), hears the heartfelt prayers of the man’s friends and arrives not only to save the day but to earn his wings. George rebuffs Clarence’s help. In desperation, Clarence reviews George’s life through flashbacks to prove the man's worth. Obviously a number of the film scenes couldn’t be duplicated on the stage, such as the dance floor opening over the swimming pool or George rescuing his brother from the lake. Such scenes are simply mentioned by the actors as the play clips along at a merry pace with no lag time. The film’s script is highly condensed—the play runs less than two hours. Plenty of good material is left out. Anyone who hasn’t seen the movie (if such a person exists) may have trouble keeping up with the story. Personally, I missed the bit where Mary gives George the pillow embroidered with a drawing of him lassoing the moon for her. The George/Mary romance seems rushed. For all the movie dialogue omitted, however, many prime chunks are left in. We see George courting school chum Mary Hatch and hear his grand plans to escape this hick town, see the world and make a name for himself. Then reality sets in: His father’s untimely death means the end of the family business, a scrappy little mortgage company vulture-eyed by mogul and miser Mr. Potter (Ron Rezac). George reluctantly takes over his father’s position, just to keep Potter’s claws off the company. He still believes he can leave as soon as the firm stabilizes. Yet each time he seems to get ahead—such as saving a fistful of money for a grand honeymoon—he must postpone his personal needs and rescue the company yet again. As George ages and his prospects diminish, he’s angry at his low wages, his drafty old house, and even his children’s handmedown clothes. George finally explodes when his business partner, Uncle Billy (Chris Carnicelli), misplaces $8,000 and the bank auditor swoops in for the kill. The story illustrates the lyric, “life is what happens to you while you are busy making plans.” George fumes over what he lacks instead of rejoicing in the blessings he has, as he discovers in the heartwarming finale. The play’s also the definitive underdog story, one lone man of principle standing up against the rich and powerful. George provides home loans to the poor so they can flee Potter’s slums. The message is clear for today’s world as the haves continue to take more away from the have-nots, and high housing prices make the American Dream unobtainable even for the middle class. To his credit, German doesn’t attempt to imitate the incomparable Jimmy Stewart. German does a fine job of interpreting the character, although he could cut loose more in his scenes of anguish. Christine Burke is a perky, cheerful Mary, the perfect “Donna Reed”-type housewife (Reed played the movie role). Small wonder George falls for her. Carnicelli is enjoyable as the clumsy Uncle Billy, right down to the natural-sounding stutter (which for some odd reason he drops in his final speech). Rezac is deliciously wicked as the heartless millionaire. One can almost see the evil ooze from his pores. I also liked Elixeo Flores as the immigrant Mr. Martini. He added a nice touch of diversity to Bedford Falls. Pearlman has fun with his Clarence character, a bemused, “hey, let’s sit down and shoot the breeze” guy. I’ve never seen an angel in a Hawaiian shirt before, but it suits him. One nice touch is the a cappella singing. Young carolers open each act with a song, and a girl entertains us with “Silent Night” during a long scene change. The entire cast sings through curtain call and in the lobby as the audience exits. It’s a pleasant way to end the evening. So what of this movieturnedplay? The script ignores the giant plot holes: Why doesn’t George just hire someone else to run the company, and how did Potter get on the company’s board of directors in the first place. But then we’d have no story. Sure, the ending is awfully hokey, but it’s gooey enough to leave one with warm fuzzies and a tear in the eye. At this time of the year, feel-good is all we need. The end result is satisfying, although I’d recommend watching the film the next day to see the omitted scenes. I wonder what’s up for next year—a stage version of the movie “A Christmas Story”?
The play continues through Dec. 23, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays at 3050 Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley. For tickets, call (805) 583-7900. |
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