“It’s A Wonderful Life:Live In Chicago!” reviewed by Julia W. Rath

Highly Recommended **** For the first time since the pandemic, American Blues Theater (ABT) has started up its live performances of “It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!” just in time for the holidays. Unlike 2020 when the show migrated to Zoom, today we once again have a live audience—which becomes the studio audience at radio station WABT during the Christmas of 1944. While the audience takes its seats, we are treated to a festive atmosphere, with the cast singing holiday songs. This is the moment when pleasant memories of the magic of Christmas past return to us as does a happy remembrance of the popular and well-loved Frank Capra movie, which has become a television staple. From the get-go, we are asked to be cognizant of the “On Air” and “Applause” signs before the radio program takes to the airwaves. But this year, the signs are in a slightly different place. That’s because the show is now at the Victory Gardens Theater, in Lincoln Park, a venue that has a somewhat larger capacity than its predecessor, the Pro Theatre at Stage 773. And that is not the only change. Thanks to director and artistic director Wendy Whiteside, the new, improved, and readapted 20th anniversary production outshines versions from years past.

Based on the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”, the live radio version of the show tells the story of George Bailey, his family, his father’s business (the Bailey Building and Loan Company), and his small upstate New York hometown of Bedford Falls. The tale is as much about destiny as it is about the desire to control our own lives. We come to understand that while we may seek to spread our wings and forge our own path, fate and circumstances may intervene. And then we learn about the huge difference that one person and their good will can make in the lives of their friends, neighbors, associates, and family members—and even their enemies.

Brandon Dahlquist astounds us as George in his fantastic return performance. However, the current iteration of the show brings with it a slew of new cast members, all of whom are great! Audrey Billings now plays Mary Bailey; Manny Buckley plays Joseph and Uncle Billy; Yuchi Chiu plays Harry Bailey (and the ukulele); and Joe Dempsey joins Joe Mohrlein, a veteran actor of twenty years, to play Mr. Potter and Clarence the Angel. Every one of these performers has a wide-ranging ability to mimic different voices associated with the various characters they play, with some perfectly impersonating the voices of the actors in the original movie. What a joy to watch all of them change their voices, expressions, and body language at will during the course of the performance. It is exciting to see how well they interact with each other—and sing harmoniously too!

Michael Mahler’s brilliant musical direction for the past ten years remains without equal. His ability to play instruments ranging from the piano, guitar, banjo, and harmonica doesn’t fail to amaze us, especially in how quickly he transitions from one instrument to the next while he also plays the part of the announcer.

On foley is thirteen-year veteran Shawn J. Goudie, who treats us to inventive sound effects. How interesting it is to watch him create all sorts of unusual sounds! My favorite happens to be when Harry Bailey falls through an icy pond and his brother George rescues him—and later when George jumps off a bridge into the river to rescue Clarence. Although I have seen the movie many times in the past, I never thought—until now—about the significance of these two rescue sequences taken together. Both can be viewed as a form of baptism, where major changes in one’s life flow from the moment of hitting the water.

As compared to two years ago when I last saw the show in person, I like it a lot better now. Upgrades to the script make the action easier to follow as a radio broadcast. The additional banter between Clarence and Joseph in heaven frames the story more tightly. Parts of the dialogue have been simplified and strengthened. Furthermore, when the actors engage less with the audience (due to today’s COVID restrictions), everything is better focused. By making the show less interactive and more musically entertaining at the beginning (and even by skipping the milk and cookies at the end), the production gives more emphasis to George Bailey’s story and more credence to the profound meaning that underlies it. Hence this version attains the fine balance of bringing joyous holiday memories to the audience without being overly sentimental. To put this another way, we sense the existential meaning of the narrative without getting caught up in sugary superficiality. So now we are left to close our eyes and see the action in our imagination minus all the visuals, which is what a good old-time radio program is all about.

Speaking of visuals, the set is replete with Christmas trees, ornaments, and lights, plus furniture and props dating from the mid-twentieth century, courtesy of scenic designer Grant Sabin and set decorator and prop designer Elyse Dolan. Costume design by Christopher J. Neville features period clothing from the 1940s befitting a holiday celebration. Lighting design by Katy Peterson is well done. But, of course, without sound design by Rick Sims, there could be no live production in the theater nor across WABT’s airwaves.

Note that several changes had to be made this year because of COVID protocols. For starters, Santa Claus will not be making an appearance at any point during the show’s run. There are fewer ushers in the theater and no physical programs; these are fully electronic. The first two rows are also roped off so that actors and the audience would be kept considerably more than six feet away from each other. However, due to some computer glitch, my guest and I were seated in the blocked off area and in the exact same seat numbers as when I saw the performance at Stage 773. (And yes, I do remember such details!) We should have been reseated elsewhere in the house, but that never happened.

The show is a quick and very enjoyable 90 minutes (with no intermission). It is reminiscent of better times, that is, before the pandemic and before so much violence has marred our country. Most importantly, perhaps like George Bailey, all of us have experienced moments of quiet desperation at some point in our lives. Perhaps we have lost loved ones during COVID or perhaps it seems as if there is no end to the pandemic, especially with the Omicron variant looming. Perhaps we have reached a low point when we are frustrated and don’t understand what our purpose is or why we should trudge on. Yes, the grief and pain can be overwhelming. That being said, maybe it is a miracle that all of us can gather together in one place to celebrate the season and share in the thrill of watching this triumphant show. Whether we realize it or not, no matter what hardships we might be going through, perhaps each and every one of us is truly leading a wonderful, charmed, and blessed life, here and now. Our best tomorrows may be yet to come.

“It’s a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!” is playing through December 31, 2021, at the Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N Lincoln Avenue, Chicago.

Ticket prices are $25-$65.

Performance Schedule:

Wednesdays: 7:30 p.m. (December 22 and 29 only)
Thursdays: 4:30 p.m. (December 23 only); 7:30 p.m.
Fridays: 7:30 p.m.
Saturdays: 4:30 p.m. (December 4, 11 and 18 only) and 7:30 p.m.
Sundays: 2:30 p.m.

*No performances on December 24 or 25.
Additional performance on December 31 at 4:30 p.m.

To purchase tickets: buy online at https://americanbluestheater.com/
or call the box office at (773) 871-3000.

Group Sales discounts and Blue Card Memberships are available by calling (773) 654-3103 or visiting
https://americanbluestheater.com/.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “It’s A Wonderful Life: Live From Chicago!”.

“Sadly, John Mohrlein, who played several roles in this production for over 20 years , passed away on December 8th. John had a long battle with Cancer. He will be sorely missed by the Chicago area theater community- audiences, actors, directors and all! His enthusiasm for his craft and aiding young actors was infectious and will be seen in others for years to come”.