(BRANCHBURG, NJ) -- The Theatre at Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg will present Live From WVL Radio Theatre’s original adaptation of the holiday classic, It’s a Wonderful Life, Tuesday, December 15, with performances at 2:00pm and 7:00pm. The production is part of the Theatre’s Major Artists Series.
It’s Christmas Eve, 1945 and only two of WVL Radio’s actors have braved the blizzard to perform that evening’s broadcast of It’s a Wonderful Life and keep the station afloat. This clever stage adaptation of the beloved film, set in the fictional studio of WVL Radio Theatre, takes us back to the Golden Age of radio and breathes new life into the poignant story of George Bailey and Bedford Falls.
The production really is a play within a play, and audiences will find themselves rooting not only for George and Mary, but also for the small but intrepid band of employees that must miraculously manage to perform the entire story of It’s a Wonderful Life using only their voices and a sound-effects table. Will they save the station? As George Bailey says, "If we believe in each other it might be possible.”
When Frank Capra and his co-writers were working on the original screenplay of It’s a Wonderful Life, the Great Depression was a vivid memory. The story is juxtaposed against a time of failing banks, devastatingly high unemployment and a shortage of affordable housing. The circumstances are eerily familiar, and over 60 years later this inspirational story remains as fresh and relevant as ever.
Mountain Xpress has called the production “As engaging, if not more so, than multimillion dollar Hollywood extravaganzas.”
Tickets cost $10 for the 2 p.m. show and $25 for the 7 p.m. performance. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the Box Office, 908-725-3420, or order online at www.rvccArts.org. Subscribers’ packages are available for all Theatre series. Senior citizen, student and group discounts are also available for most performances.
Raritan Valley Community College’s main campus is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, NJ. Serving Somerset and Hunterdon County residents for close to 50 years, RVCC is an educational and cultural center that is nationally recognized for its innovative programming, service to the community and environmental leadership. The College offers more than 90 associate degrees and certificates, as well as career training, professional development and personal enrichment courses. RVCC is committed to offering a quality and affordable education through effective teaching, liaisons with the community’s businesses and state-of-the-art technology. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu
