A CONCORD THEATRICALS TITLE

It's A Wonderful Life

Full-Length Musical, Drama  /  4w, 9m

Book, Music and Lyrics by Thomas M. Sharkey
Based on the Frank Capra film and the original story by Philip Van Doren Stern

A musical adaptation of Frank Capra’s masterpiece film, It’s A Wonderful Life.

It's A Wonderful Life

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 9m
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Christmas/Holiday
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Appropriate for All Audiences

Details

Summary
It’s A Wonderful Life is a musical adaptation of Frank Capra’s masterpiece film. This is the saga of George Bailey, the Everyman from the small town of Bedford Falls, whose dreams of escape and adventure have been squashed by family obligations and civic duty, and whose guardian angel has to descend on Christmas Eve to save him from despair, and to remind him – by showing him what the world would have been like had he never been born – that he has had, after all, a wonderful life.
History
It’s a Wonderful Life premiered durning the 1987 Christmas season at Howard Cobbs’ Gaslight Dinner Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee. Subsequently it has played every Christmas season in theatres large and small across the country and around the world.
  • Time Period 1940s/WWII, 1930s
  • Setting In, around, and above Bedford Falls, a small, working-class town in Upstate New York.
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Additional Features Play with Music
  • Duration 90 minutes
  • Cautions
    • No Special Cautions

Media

“Funny, moving and memorable… Frank Capra would be proud!” – Woodstock Herald

“Great… memorable… It’s even better the second time around!” – Quad City Times

“Charming… endearing… It’s a wonderful life and you just have to believe it.” – Northwestern

“Superb… a musical to remember.” – Norfolk Daily Press

“Funny, moving and memorable… Thomas M. Sharkey did a wonderful thing when he took one of America’s favorite holiday film classics and wrote music and lyrics for it. Frank Capra would be proud!” – Woodstock Herald

ON BREAKING CHARACTER

19 Holiday Shows for 2019
August 14, 2019

Music

  • Musical Style Classic Broadway
  • Vocal DemandsModerate
  • Orchestra Size Small/Combo
  • Chorus Size No Chorus

Licensing & Materials

  • Licensing fees and rental materials quoted upon application.

Music Rentals

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Authors

Tom Sharkey

Tom Sharkey

Tom Sharkey (1934-2008), author-composer-lyricist-producer, began his career at the age of 19 as a writer-editor for the Chicago Magazine and published two books before graduating from Chicago State University. He was playwright-in-residence at Southern Illinois University, C ...

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