A Wonderful Life (musical)
Encyclopedia
A Wonderful Life is a musical
with a book and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
and music by Joe Raposo
.
Based on the classic Frank Capra film
starring James Stewart
, the story closely follows the original plot, set in 1945, telling the story of a suicidal man whose guardian angel
reveals to him how different the world and everyone whose life he has touched would be had he never been born. The film was, in turn, based on a 1938 short story by Philip Van Doren Stern
called The Greatest Gift.
, but just as the musical's book was completed, a controversy arose over the rights to the underlying Stern story that delayed production of the show. During this delay, Raposo died of cancer in 1989.
A Wonderful Life was performed for the first time at the University of Michigan
in 1986. The first professional production took place at the Wagon Wheel Playhouse in Warsaw, Indiana in 1988, followed by a staged reading at the Paper Mill Playhouse
, Millburn, New Jersey, in 1990. It was produced at Washington, DC's Arena Stage
, running from November 1991 to January 5, 1992.
On December 12, 2005, a staged concert version was directed by Carl Andress and choreographed by Denis Jones at the Shubert Theatre
in New York City
for the benefit of the Actors' Fund of America. Among the Broadway
notables who participated were
Brian Stokes Mitchell
as George Bailey,
David Hyde Pierce
as Clarence,
Judy Kuhn
as Mary Bailey,
Dominic Chianese
as Mr. Potter,
Karen Ziemba
as The MC,
Philip Bosco
as Joseph,
Marian Seldes
as Mrs. Hatch,
Ronn Carroll as Tom Bailey,
Marc Kudisch
as Sam Wainwright,
Michael Berresse
as Harry Bailey,
Nancy Anderson as Violet,
Chuck Cooper as Uncle Billy,
George S. Irving
as Mr. Martini,
Jayne Houdyshell
as Mrs. Martini,
and
Phylicia Rashad
as Millie Bailey
The Evening was hosted by Actors Fund President Joseph Benincasa and Vice Chair of the Actors Fund Bebe Neuwirth
.
The Paper Mill Playhouse production, fully staged, ran from November through December 17, 2006, directed by James Brennan, and received moderately positive reviews. Theatre Under The Stars
produced the work in 2007, and the piece has received other regional productions.
Act II
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with a book and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Sheldon Harnick
Sheldon Harnick is an American lyricist best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on hit musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof....
and music by Joe Raposo
Joe Raposo
Joseph Guilherme Raposo, OIH was a Portuguese-American composer, songwriter, pianist, television writer and lyricist, best known for his work on the children's television series Sesame Street, for which he wrote the theme song, as well as classic songs such as "Bein' Green" and "C is for Cookie"...
.
Based on the classic Frank Capra film
It's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
starring James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
, the story closely follows the original plot, set in 1945, telling the story of a suicidal man whose guardian angel
Guardian angel
A guardian angel is an angel assigned to protect and guide a particular person or group. Belief in guardian angels can be traced throughout all antiquity...
reveals to him how different the world and everyone whose life he has touched would be had he never been born. The film was, in turn, based on a 1938 short story by Philip Van Doren Stern
Philip Van Doren Stern
Philip Van Doren Stern was an author, editor, and Civil War historian whose story "The Greatest Gift," published in 1943, inspired the classic Christmas film It's a Wonderful Life .-Early life:...
called The Greatest Gift.
Background and production history
Harnick and Raposo worked for many years to put together a musical version of It's a Wonderful LifeIt's a Wonderful Life
It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 American Christmas drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Van Doren Stern....
, but just as the musical's book was completed, a controversy arose over the rights to the underlying Stern story that delayed production of the show. During this delay, Raposo died of cancer in 1989.
A Wonderful Life was performed for the first time at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1986. The first professional production took place at the Wagon Wheel Playhouse in Warsaw, Indiana in 1988, followed by a staged reading at the Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theatre with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey, less than 25 miles from Manhattan. Due to its location, it can draw from the pool of actors who live in New York City. Its location, as well as its focus on producing large-scale shows, makes...
, Millburn, New Jersey, in 1990. It was produced at Washington, DC's Arena Stage
Arena Stage
Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest Washington, D.C. Its declared mission"is to produce huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit. Arena has broad shoulders and a capacity to produce anything from vast epics...
, running from November 1991 to January 5, 1992.
On December 12, 2005, a staged concert version was directed by Carl Andress and choreographed by Denis Jones at the Shubert Theatre
Shubert Theatre (Broadway)
The Shubert Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 225 West 44th Street in midtown-Manhattan, New York, United States.Designed by architect Henry Beaumont Herts, it was named after Sam S. Shubert, the second oldest of the three brothers of the theatrical producing family...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for the benefit of the Actors' Fund of America. Among the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
notables who participated were
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Brian Stokes Mitchell is an American stage, film and television actor. A powerful baritone, he has been one of the central leading men of the Broadway theatre since the early 1990s...
as George Bailey,
David Hyde Pierce
David Hyde Pierce
David Hyde Pierce is an American actor and comedian best known for playing psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom Frasier, for which he received many accolades including four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.-Early life:Pierce, the youngest of four siblings,...
as Clarence,
Judy Kuhn
Judy Kuhn
-Life and career:Kuhn was born in New York City and grew up in Bethesda, Maryland. She attended Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C.She entered Oberlin College in 1976. Although she was very interested in singing and theater, she began Oberlin in the College, not the Conservatory. After taking...
as Mary Bailey,
Dominic Chianese
Dominic Chianese
Dominic Chianese is an American film, television and theatre actor, perhaps best known for his role as Corrado "Junior" Soprano on the HBO TV series, The Sopranos.-Early life:...
as Mr. Potter,
Karen Ziemba
Karen Ziemba
Karen Ziemba is an American actress, singer and dancer, best known for her work in musical theatre.-Biography:Ziemba was born in St. Joseph, Michigan, and went on to attend the University of Akron , where she studied dance and joined the Ohio Ballet in her sophomore year.Her Broadway debut was in...
as The MC,
Philip Bosco
Philip Bosco
-Personal life:Bosco was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Margaret Raymond , a policewoman, and Philip Lupo Bosco, a carnival worker. Bosco went to high school at St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City. He attended the Catholic University of Washington, D.C. Bosco married Nancy...
as Joseph,
Marian Seldes
Marian Seldes
Marian Hall Seldes is an American stage, film, radio, and television actress whose career has spanned six decades and who was elected to the American Theatre Hall of Fame.-Life and career:...
as Mrs. Hatch,
Ronn Carroll as Tom Bailey,
Marc Kudisch
Marc Kudisch
Marc Kudisch is an American stage actor, who is best known for his musical theatre roles on Broadway.-Early life and education:...
as Sam Wainwright,
Michael Berresse
Michael Berresse
Michael Berresse is an American actor, dancer, choreographer, and director. The son of artist and author Cynthia Berresse Ploski, he has appeared on Broadway in many shows including: Kiss Me, Kate, Chicago, Fiddler on the Roof, Carousel and Damn Yankees, and The Light in the Piazza as Giuseppe...
as Harry Bailey,
Nancy Anderson as Violet,
Chuck Cooper as Uncle Billy,
George S. Irving
George S. Irving
George S. Irving is an American actor, known primarily for his character roles on Broadway. Born George Irving Shelasky in Springfield, Massachusetts, he made his debut in the original 1943 production of Oklahoma!, only to be drafted days later to serve in World War II...
as Mr. Martini,
Jayne Houdyshell
Jayne Houdyshell
Jayne Houdyshell is a Tony Award–nominated American theater actress.-Life and career:Raised in Topeka, Kansas, she is the youngest of four daughters born to Galen "Buzz" Houdyshell and Louella Taylor...
as Mrs. Martini,
and
Phylicia Rashad
Phylicia Rashad
Phylicia Rashād is an American Tony Award winning actress and singer, best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show....
as Millie Bailey
The Evening was hosted by Actors Fund President Joseph Benincasa and Vice Chair of the Actors Fund Bebe Neuwirth
Bebe Neuwirth
Beatrice "Bebe" Neuwirth is an American actress, singer and dancer. She has worked in television and is known for her portrayal of Dr. Lilith Sternin, Dr. Frasier Crane's wife , on both the TV sitcom Cheers , and its spin-off Frasier...
.
The Paper Mill Playhouse production, fully staged, ran from November through December 17, 2006, directed by James Brennan, and received moderately positive reviews. Theatre Under The Stars
Theatre Under The Stars (Houston)
Theatre Under the Stars is a year-round, professional, non-profit musical theatre production company. It is located in Houston, Texas, performing mostly at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Theatre Under The Stars’ season generally includes both self-produced shows as well as national...
produced the work in 2007, and the piece has received other regional productions.
Song list
Act I- George’s Prayer
- This Year Europe
- One of the Lucky Ones/Can
- You Find Me a House
- In a State
- A Wonderful Life
- If I Had a Wish
- One of the Lucky Ones
- Reprise
- Wings
- Good Night
- Not What I Expected
- Panic at the Loan Building
- A Wonderful Life - Reprise
Act II
- Can You Find Me a House - Reprise
- When You Own Your Own Home
- First Class All the Way
- I Couldn’t Be with Anyone but You
- Welcome a Hero
- Christmas Gifts
- Precious Little
- Unborn Sequence
- A Wonderful Life - Reprise
- Welcome the Hero - Reprise
- Christmas Gifts - Reprise