A Wonderful Life

Book and Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick

Music by Joe Raposo

Porchlight Theatre        

http://www.porchlighttheatre.com/

 

The classic It’s A Wonderful Life, from which this musical is based, has often been referred to as America’s most beloved movie. As it is televised multiple times every holiday season, one would have had to live in a hole to never have seen it.  This familiarity with the cinematic story proves to be both a detriment and a blessing in this case. With Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life so ingrained in the American psyche, it seems an almost insurmountable task to adapt this for the stage as a musical - no matter what is done, the show will be measured up to the film and the powerful performance of Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey.  The adaptation that Porchlight Theatre presents, A Wonderful Life, is partially successful in carrying this out.

 

A Wonderful Life tells the story of George Bailey, a young man whose dreams of being an engineer and a world-traveler are dashed by his responsibilities to sustain the family’s business.  When cataclysmic circumstances cause Bailey to question whether his life is worth living, his bumbling guardian angel, Clarence, in order to earn his wings, appears to present to him just what life would be like if he’d in fact never been born. 

 

Musically, the show sounds great.  As always, musical director Eugene Dizon has done an exemplary job rehearsing and perfecting the voices.  The orchestra’s performance is top-notch, with special praise bestowed on Derek Weihofen, who plays his flute with beautiful tone and expression.  

 

But even Dizon’s magic can’t resuscitate some of the songs in this show.  With lyrics by Sheldon Harnick (Fiorello, Fiddler on the Roof) and music by Joe Raposo (who wrote such gems as “It’s Not Easy Being Green” and “The First Time It Happens”), one would expect a more solid score.  Instead, A Wonderful Life is bogged down with polarizing styles of painful recitative “George’s Prayer” and inane fluff (“Wings” and the goofy Latin-influenced “First Class All The Way”).  This adaptation would have been better off focusing on the story, with songs sparsely interspersed.  Nonetheless, there are some well-written numbers, especially “Not What I Expected” and “Precious Little”.

 

A special musical commendation must be placed on Jess Godwin, playing George Bailey’s wife Mary.  Ms. Godwin has an absolutely angelic voice, and handles her mezzo-soprano vocal instrument with sublime control, her extended higher notes sung with perfect nuance and clarity.  Godwin, seen earlier as Gypsy Rose Lee in Porchlight’s Gypsy, has been given a part that allows her amazing talents to shine. 

 

Director Walter Stearns is in his element when using a thrust stage such as this one, and he does not disappoint.  He brings out the best from his actors, with some nice nuances such as staging Mary Bailey strutting around in furs while Potter sings “First Class All The Way”.  

 

David Heimann’s portrayal of George Bailey is mostly right on the mark.  But he is onstage almost the entire show, and because of this, problems start to arise near the end as he runs out of steam, most noticeable in his final songs, his intensity waning in between his lines.  The rest of the ensemble performances are fine-tuned, especially Doug Long (Uncle Billy Bailey), Peter Pohlhammer (Mr. Potter), and Vincent Lonergan and Chuck Sisson (Clarence and Joseph, respectively).

 

Though A Wonderful Life has a number of challenges attached to it, this tear-jerker successfully communicates the empowering message of just how much our lives affect the world around us.  In the end, Porchlight Theatre delivers to the audience a fine artistic product from a poignant but unfortunately flawed adaptation of this American movie classic.

 

Rating: Recommended (3 stars)