New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu



 

REVIEW: "It's A Wonderful Life" At Mile Square Theatre


By Adam F. Cohen

originally published: 12/07/2018


Nestled in a corner of Hoboken, on the second floor, lies the studios of radio station WMST.  It’s a wonderful art deco studio, replete with fine wooden walls, embedded with colorful lights an applause sign.  On stage, we’ve got a few chairs, several microphones and a whole corner wedged with all the necessary props – piano, men’s shoes, sheet metal – to create the audio effects for the production of “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

Yes, the classic Frank Capra film has been transformed into an effervescent, energetic, engaging radio play for the stage.  Here five actors play all of the characters from the film accompanied by a sound effects artist and commercial breaks for Mile Square Theater’s sponsors.  It’s a wonderful evening of theater, radiating with creativity and fine acting.

One of the secrets to great acting is listening.  And the cast of the production is spot on and in great concert with one another.  An actor’s coughing fit is incorporated into a line or two.  One mimes a child playing the piano while the foley artist executes the actual music on the piano.  These small treasure help enliven the classic film into an evening of compelling theater. 

As fans of the movie know, George (John P. Keller) has grown up in Bedford Falls, an idyllic small town, determined to get out. He plans to see the world and build skyscrapers or something else huge when he grows up. But circumstances constantly keep him in Bedford Falls. His father dies. The rich, sinister Mr. Potter tries to liquidate the Bailey family’s savings-and-loan business (and basically take over the town). George’s brother, Harry the war hero, marries a great woman whose father has offered him a promising career opportunity, elsewhere. When the accidental loss of $8,000 leaves George on the verge of disaster, he contemplates killing himself.

Clarence, George’s slightly bumbling 292-year-old apprentice guardian angel, comes to earth to help him. By showing George what Bedford Falls and numerous loved ones would have been like if George had never been born, Clarence manages to turn him around. Which is no surprise, since apparently without George, the town would have turned into sleazy Pottersville long ago replete with angry, lifeless citizens.  And his beloved wife ends up a spinster librarian.  Lifted from a suicidal depression, George Bailey is a man with a reawakened appreciation of his life and the people he loves. It all happens on Christmas Eve, and an angel gets his wings.




Follow New Jersey Stage on social media
Facebook, Threads, Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky



From moment one the audience is enraptured.  There’s so much to look at – from the incredible foley artist (Hannah Mount) to the instaneously transforming actors.  Shifting from one character to another with a simple costume hint (a fur wrap, apron) or prop (cigar).   They create memorable characters who are surprisingly vivid and fully believable characters – neighbors and friends of the Bailey family.  Each actor is incredibly expressive and versatile.  Maggie Weston largely enacts George’s faithful wife, Mary.  

According to announcer Freddie Filmore (played by Michael Daly, who also played It’s a Wonderful Life’s God, Potter and Uncle Billy), Laurents had starred on radio in a “boy detective” radio show, and Sally Applewhite\Mary Bailey (Weston), had been Ms. Ohio 1943. Filmore is magical in his many roles.  He’s just delightful as he quickly embodies each character, within a sentence transforming himself.  The top-of-the-line cast was rounded out by Tim Nicolai, who magnificently played Harry “Jazzbo” Heywood who played Clarence and several other characters in Wonderful Life, and Joelle Zazz, who played Lana Sherwood, who most notably played Violet, the town temptress and Bailey’s mom.

Director Joseph Discher did a masterful job of keeping to the play-within-a-play conceit. Mount’s impressively, perfectly timed sound effects included a leather strap to effect slaps, a tub of water for breaking ice, a miniature door for doors, and tin-cans (held by the actors to their mouths) for phones. I loved the faux commercials.

It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play plays all the right emotional strings. It certainly has earned its place as a new holiday tradition. It’s the perfect show for families to see, and reflect on, this holiday season.

The production runs now through December 23rd at Mile Square Theatre (1400 Clinton Street in Hoboken, New Jersey). For tickets or more information, click here.

Photos by Joe Epstein





Follow New Jersey Stage on social media
Facebook, Threads, Instagram, Twitter, Bluesky





FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


Vivid

Vivid Summer Solos: Where is Everybody?

Wednesday, July 09, 2025 @ 6:30pm
Visual Arts Center of New Jersey
68 Elm Street, Summit, NJ 07901
category: theatre

Click here for full event listing

 

A

A Broadway Tour of America

Thursday, July 10, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Grunin Center - Black Box Theater
1 College Drive, Toms River, NJ 08754
category: theatre

Click here for full event listing

 

The

The MAC players at the Middletown Arts Center present "Hairspray"

Friday, July 11, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Middletown Arts Center
36 Church Street, Middletown, NJ 07748
category: theatre

Click here for full event listing

 

A

A Broadway Tour of America

Friday, July 11, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Grunin Center - Black Box Theater
1 College Drive, Toms River, NJ 08754
category: theatre

Click here for full event listing

 

The

The Wizard of Oz

Saturday, July 12, 2025 @ 2:00pm
Algonquin Arts Theatre
60 Abe Voorhees, Manasquan, NJ 08736
category: theatre

Click here for full event listing

 

More events

Event Listings are available for $10 and included with our banner ad packages




 

EVENT PREVIEWS

Asbury

Asbury Park to Host 1st Annual ACT OUT, DIVA! New Play Festival

(ASBURY PARK, NJ) -- Bailey Dumlao and Matthew Yee have announced the first annual ACT OUT, DIVA! New Play Festival featuring five new plays presented as readings from July 17-20, 2025. Matthew Yee is one of the featured playwrights and Bailey Dumlao directs all five pieces.



Cape

Cape May Stage presents "Sexy Laundry"

(CAPE MAY, NJ) -- Cape May Stage presents Sexy Laundry by Michele Riml from July 16 through August 24, 2025. The relatable storyline follows Alice and Henry, a long-married couple, attempting to reignite the spark in their relationship by escaping to a trendy hotel with a copy of the book Sex for Dummies in hand.



The

The Ritz Theatre Company presents "The Wizard of Oz"

(HADDON TOWNSHIP, NJ) -- The Ritz Theatre Company presents The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum weekends from July 11-27, 2025. Based upon the Classic Motion Picture, it was adapted by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company and features Music & Lyrics by Harold Arlen & E.Y. Harburg.



PHOTOS

PHOTOS from "Hairspray" at Middletown Arts Center

(MIDDLETOWN, NJ) -- The MAC Players at the Middletown Arts Center present the unstoppably joyous musical, Hairspray, over two weekends, July 11–20, 2025. Directed by Victoria Keiser, with musical direction by Lauryn Boyle and choreography by Samantha Amaral, the award-winning Broadway musical promises a fun-filled evening of laughter, energy and unforgettable dance numbers. Fawn Nocera Photography was on hand to take photos.



Renowned

Renowned West End Actor, Rohan Tickell, to Star in "Every Brilliant Thing" at East Lynne Theater Company

(CAPE MAY, NJ) -- Acclaimed London-based actor Rohan Tickell is bringing his extraordinary talent to Cape May's award-winning, Equity professional East Lynne Theater Company, to star in Duncan Macmillan's globally celebrated play Every Brilliant Thing, running July 31 to August 30, 2025 at the new Clemans Theater for the Arts.