Program Notes by Joshua S

PROGRAM NOTES BY JOSHUA S. RITTER In 1943, two hundred fortunate Hackett and Frances Goodrich to write individuals received an unusual another draft of the screenplay that would Christmas greeting by mail in the more closely follow Stern’s story. Capra form of a short story entitled “The was both pleased with their work and the Greatest Gift” by Philip Van Doren actors who were available to play central Stern. It was a simple yet profound roles, such as James Stewart as George story about a mysterious stranger Bailey, Donna Reed as Mary Bailey and who encounters a suicidal man on Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Potter. When Capra Christmas Eve. The despondent previewed It’s a Wonderful Life to the press, man is offered the “gift” of knowing he felt it was the greatest film he had ever what his town would be like if he made. In fact, he wrote in his autobiography had never existed. Despite being that he thought it was the greatest film an authoritative Civil War historian, anybody had ever made. editor and biographer, Stern had trouble finding a magazine Despite Capra’s confidence in the film, it publisher who would purchase received mixed reviews when debuted his story. As a result, he decided to the press in 1946. The New York to publish it himself and send it to Times criticized it for being both overly two hundred of his closest friends, sentimental and portraying an overly including his agent, Shirley Collier, illusory concept of life. The FBI even who subsequently sold the story issued a memo in 1947 accusing the film to the film production company of containing subversive communist RKO. Thereafter, RKO recruited the talents propaganda. After its general release in of Dalton Trumbo, Clifford Odets, and Marc 1947, It’s a Wonderful Life recorded a loss of Connelly to pen a screenplay based on $525,000 at the box office. Despite these the story. However, disappointments, the film won Capra a RKO executives were Golden Globe Award for Best Director and unsatisfied with their it was nominated for five Academy Awards. work. They felt that To Capra’s surprise and delight, the film their drafts strayed experienced resurgence in popularity from the original decades later and became an undisputed concept too much classic holiday film. Most attribute this to and did not do justice the fact that the black and white version to the original story. fell out of copyright and into the public domain. This allowed numerous TV In desperation, RKO’s networks to air it during the holidays and studio chief pitched the public’s appreciation of the film held up Stern’s fable to and gradually increased over the years. celebrated director Frank Capra who was The legendary Sheldon Harnick (Book in dire need of a first and Lyrics) and Joe Raposo (Composer) project for his newly dedicated 10 years to collaborating on incorporated Liberty a musical theatre adaptation of the film Films. Upon reading entitled A Wonderful Life. In 1986, an early “The Greatest Gift”, version of the musical premiered at the Capra wrote in his University of Michigan. Unfortunately, autobiography “It was a rights dispute and Raposo’s illness the story I had been and premature death in 1989 delayed looking for all my life!” development of the show. Harnick Capra purchased “The continued working on A Wonderful Life after Greatest Gift” from Raposo passed away and in 1990, Paper Mill RKO for $50,000 and Playhouse presented a staged reading of the deal included the the work. Then, in 1991, Washington D.C.’s Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart on the set of scripts by Trumbo, It’s a Wonderful Life. Connelly, and Odets. Capra hired Albert Continued PROGRAM NOTES CONTINUED Arena Stage produced it professionally for America and the idealized ethos of small the first time. In 2005, there was an Actors town USA. It’s no wonder countless families Fund benefit concert of A Wonderful Life at have made this timeless classic a holiday the Shubert Theatre in New York City. Most tradition. recently, Harnick made some changes to the script of A Wonderful Life in preparation Director and award winning playwright for Goodspeed’s production. Michael Perlman will be making his Goodspeed debut with this production of The basic moral at the heart of “The A Wonderful Life. He sees Goodspeed as the Greatest Gift”, It’s a Wonderful Life, and A perfect place to stage the show because the Wonderful Life is that we are interconnected intimacy of the space allows the audience and important in ways we can never fully to know and appreciate the characters in understand. These timeless works serve to an unusually heightened way. He also sees remind us that it is impossible to calculate Goodspeed as a theatre that is part of a our impact on the lives of those around us. small, close, community that is evocative What’s more, the film and stage version add of a simpler time. Perlman intends to pay narrative elements that further convey what homage to the classic movie while making many consider the truly valuable things in the show at once familiar and new on stage. life such as sacrifice for the common good, We hope you enjoy this heartwarming community, friends, family and love. They family musical that celebrates the power of achieve this while immersing the audience love and the goodness in all of us. in the nostalgia of traditional Christmas holidays, old-fashioned romance, post-war A scene from It’s A Wonderful Life..

Load more