[NEohioPAL] Review of "It's a Wonderful Life" at GLTG

[Bob Abelman]

GLTG's 'It's a Wonderful Life' missing vital ingredients

 Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review appeared in the News-Herald on 12/10/10

 Many of us grew up watching Frank Capra's film It's a Wonderful Life on TV during the holidays.  In fact, it was shown so frequently on so many channels-the result of a copyright snafu-that its viewing became a cherished holiday ritual.

 

Copyright control was restored in the 1990s and NBC's exclusive contract has since limited the film's on-air availability.  To fill the void, a rash of staged renditions of the film have surfaced, several of which are currently playing in theaters near you.

 

The one-man, one-act This Wonderful Life is on stage at the Cleveland Play House (see companion review) and the full-length It's a Wonderful Life is being presented by the Geauga Lyric Theater Guild in Chardon.  

 

Because the film is so familiar and so cherished, stage productions have little choice but to embrace, to some degree, the film's iconic characterizations and the indelible mark made by the actors who created them.  In fact, because the film's dialogue was written specifically with those actors in mind, the self-sacrificing George Bailey is inseparable from James Stewart.  The greedy, decaying Mr. Potter is Lionel Barrymore in perpetuity.  The benign Angel Second Class, Clarence, is forever defined by the recognizable traits of character actor Henry Travers.
  

Stage productions must also bridge that distance between the cinematic storytelling that is now a part of our collective memory and the immediacy of live theater.  This would explain why the film has been restaged as a dazzling one-man play, a nostalgic 1940s radio show and a full-blown musical.

 

Unfortunately, the GLTG's It's a Wonderful Life offers little in the way of reverence or innovation. 

 

The play itself, adapted by James W. Rogers, is a problematic piece of work.  While remaining  true to the film, it leaves out or merely references scenes that provide important exposition, essential character development and inspirational moments, and replaces cinematic storytelling with dialogue that is often more corny than the original.  The play is recognizable but woefully out of sorts. 

 

That pivotal scene in the middle of the movie, where George debates life or death after an hour of heart wrenching dramatic buildup, is the opening scene in the play.  There's no drama.

 

George's passionate speech before the board members of the Building and Loan-the one that keeps the business operational but condemns George to a life in Bedford Falls-is gone.  There's no passion.

 

The play does not adequately establish George's all-encompassing wanderlust which, in turn, does not create a platform for his heroism when he sacrifices his dreams-again and again-for the good of the town and his family.  There's no purpose.

 

This flawed play is also poorly performed by the GLTG.



Only the delightful, Jiminy Cricket-of-a-performer Michael McArthur, who plays Clarence, and the big and boisterous Michael Rogan, as Mr. Potter, give life and dimension to their characters. They are wonderful and recognizable, but they are alone.


No one else pays homage to the film portrayals or invents anything of substance as a substitute.  Nathan Earley as George, Maggie Soulsby as Mary Hatch Bailey and others in key roles are endearing and earnest, but they say lines without meaning, act rather than honestly emote, and tend to walk through the play without realizing that most audience members know their characters better than they do.  


A flawed play and a large, amateur troupe puts a lot of demands on director Patty Osredkar.  Nonetheless, there are too many flagrantly missed opportunities, resulting in a production with little energy, warmth or tempo.  

 

Some community theaters offer holiday productions as opportunities for neighbors and friends to merely congregate and delight in each other's company.   That's fine, and this production and the creatively challenged Christmas songs performed by adorable children prior to each act may be serving that purpose.

 

However, the GLTG has a heritage of good storytelling, where neighbors and friends come for quality entertainment and, during the holidays, to find the kind of Christmas spirit that a play like It's a Wonderful Life can inspire.  This year, the GLTG production is a holiday fruitcake compared to previous years' chocolate soufflés.  It does not rise to the occasion, it substitutes syrupy for bittersweet, and it does not settle well.

 

It's a Wonderful Life continues through December 19 in the Geauga Theater, 101 Water Street, Chardon.  For tickets, which range from $5 to $15, call 440-286-2255 or visit  www.geaugatheater.org.
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