Merry Christmas, George Bailey Enjoy some articles about the production.
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Merry Christmas, George Bailey Enjoy some articles about the production.
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| From the Augusta, Georgia newspaper Radio play puts twist on `A Wonderful Life' Actors try live performances Web posted Dec. 24 at 01:15 AM PASADENA, Calif. -- Something is amiss in Bedford Falls. Clarence, the rookie angel, is cracking wise. George Bailey looks suspiciously unlike Jimmy Stewart. And the venerable story of It's a Wonderful Life is unfolding on stage, not on celluloid. This isn't a blow to tradition, however. It turns out that Frank Capra's classic film isn't the only way to enjoy the holiday drama -- PBS is offering a video version of a 1947 radio play that was based on the movie. The hour-long Merry Christmas, George Bailey airs Christmas Day at 7 p.m. on Georgia Public Television's WCES-TV Channel 20 and at 8 p.m. on South Carolina Educational Television's WEBA-TV Channel 14. It boasts a cast to match the 1946 movie's star power, which included Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore. Bill Pullman (Independence Day) is good guy George; Nathan Lane (The Birdcage, Mouse Hunt) is Clarence; and Penelope Ann Miller (The Relic) is George's love, Mary. Sally Field doubles as the narrator and George's mom. Other stars who volunteered their services for the re-enactment included Joe Mantegna, Robert Guillaume, Martin Landau, Christian Slater, Carol Kane, Bronson Pinchot, Dan Lauria and Jerry Van Dyke. Disc jockey Casey Kasem is the announcer. They and director Matthew Diamond gathered for one hectic December day to meet, rehearse and tape a single performance before a Pasadena Playhouse audience. The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation benefited. ``There's nothing but George Baileys hanging around here,'' said Mare Mazur, drama executive at the Los Angeles PBS station, KCET, which produced the show with actor Jimmy Hawkins -- one of the Bailey children in the original film. The script is the same one broadcast in 1947, a time when radio plays commonly were used to promote movies. As in the original, Clarence helps suicidal George realize that his life in tiny Bedford Falls was worthwhile because he helped others. ``I'm not gonna rewrite Frank Capra,'' Ms. Mazur said. Casting director Mary Jo Slater, the event's organizer, said she chose actors with the same careful respect and with the film's cast in mind. Mr. Pullman is ``perfect for the part. It's like reincarnation,'' she said. ``And Penelope Ann Miller looks like Donna Reed.'' At a run-through just hours before the Pasadena show, the actors gamely and quickly tried to master the unfamiliar art of radio acting. Ms. Slater, mother of Christian and Ryan Slater, who also performed, tackled other rough spots. ``It sounds like a expletive game show,'' Ms. Slater moaned after Mr. Kasem followed instructions to introduce the actors on stage with a quick roll-call of names. ``Kill it. I'm gonna have a fit.'' Sound-effects specialist Ray Erlenborn, a 70-year show business veteran still working at age 82, looked bemused as actors fumbled with microphones and became distracted by his wizardry. A box of corn starch duplicated the sound of footsteps crunching through snow, bottles rattled together mimicked a crowded saloon and a cleverly rigged old dial telephone doubled both as phone and door buzzer. During an interview, Mr. Erlenborn, who worked with radio stars including Red Skelton and Edgar Bergen, suggested a few tips. ``Radio makes you think about your timing on all your words that you're saying, and you really have to overdramatize to make it work when it's just voice.'' Mr. Lane, at least, appeared unintimidated by the microphone; the Broadway stage veteran even toyed with his lines during rehearsal. In one scene, Clarence's boss, Joseph Mantegna, is recounting the wartime heroism of George Bailey's brother, Harry. ``He shot down 15 planes,'' Mr. Mantegna said. ``But they were ours,'' Mr. Lane said. He kept the jokes going offstage. He was asked if he was a fan of the Capra movie, which aired widely each year on television until the rights were claimed recently by Republic Pictures. ``No, I'm not obsessed with it. I'm not part of a cult that goes to the theater at midnight dressed as George Bailey and Mary,'' Mr. Lane said, then added diplomatically: ``I think it's a great movie, great performances, and it has a great message.'' Mr. Pullman said he felt the pressure of stepping into Mr. Stewart's shoes -- especially in the first holiday season without the legendary movie star, who died in July at age 89. But, he speculated, Mr. Stewart might not mind sharing George Bailey. ``He would probably approve of the fact this is a different angle, a different slant on the story,'' Mr. Pullman said. ``He was from the theater, too, and probably loves the idea of re-investigating a classic.'' ``There's gonna be a lot of people thinking of
that tonight, wondering whether he's smiling or frowning.'' |
From a PBS press release Based on a Lux Radio script originally performed in 1947, this program is
a toast to the 50th anniversary of one of The cast: An all-star Hollywood cast brings this story to life and includes such Hollywood and Broadway luminaries as: Bill Pullman (George Bailey), Martin Landau (Mr. Potter), Sally Field (narrator and George Bailey's mother), Nathan Lane (Clarence the Angel), Charles Durning (Uncle Billy), Penelope Ann Miller (Mary Hatch), Robert Guillaume (Mr. Martini), Joe Mantegna (Nick) and Christian Slater (Harry Bailey and Sam Wainright). The performance was a benefit performance for the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Copyright PBS
Taken outside the production. Don't know who this lovely child is, but he sure is lucky!
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