It's a Wonderful Life
Published Tuesday December 1st, 2009
While it may have its ups and downs, overall It's a Wonderful Life.
That's not only the title but one of the messages of Theatre New Brunswick's seasonal presentation at The Playhouse from Dec. 3-6.
"Choosing the holiday show is a challenge. There are not that many great Christmas plays," says Caleb Marshall, TNB's artistic producer and director. "That's why we often see A Christmas Carol rear its head every four or five years."
He's often been asked what his favourite movie is and It's a Wonderful Life usually floats to the top of one of his possible answers, he says.
"So doing It's a Wonderful Life as our holiday show was a bit of an obvious choice and one that I knew I would be really excited and engaged to tell because I love the story."
But there was more to the choice than that, notes Marshall.
"It's been a tough economic year and I think a story that focuses on the absolute value of a simple person leading a simple life but still having a huge impact on their community," he says.
We can never know the impact that we have, he says, but if we're not around we'd leave a real gap in our family and in our community.
"Also the themes of the small independent Bailey Building and Loan fighting to put a roof over people's heads. I think those are valuable lessons at any time but they're especially prevalent in years when things are a bit financially difficult and people need to stick together," he says.
It's a Wonderful Life is the story of George Bailey, a man whose loyalty and generosity to his community keep him from ever leaving his hometown. When he finds himself alone and in trouble one fateful Christmas Eve, he needs reminding that his has been, after all, a wonderful life.
"We're taking a unique approach to the show. I came across a 1940s radio drama version which really intrigued me, because as much as I love the film and want to pay homage to the film, we're in no way trying to duplicate the film - how could we," says Marshall.
He wanted to find a convention that was inherently theatrical and the radio drama offered a unique theatricality for the stage, he says, with actors playing multiple characters live on stage and sound effects shown on stage as well.
"To have an award-winning, recognized sound designer step inside the sound design for the first time, where he's living inside it and making it happen live, is really exciting," says Marshall.
He knew the radio drama convention would leave him a little wanting if he was in the audience, so he wanted to give people more.
"I've tried to create a world where it is based in a radio drama and out of the radio drama we imagine the story in our head, so we've tried to create a show where it bursts to life, so the imagination comes to life," he says. "People will still see great iconic scenes and moments. To me, one of the real great draws to this is that it's a really familiar story to people. It's become their Christmas tradition."
There are nine actors, two children and three sound effects artists who take to the stage, with the actors sharing 63 parts.
Fredericton's own Robbie O'Neill is taking on two roles, doubling as Clarence and Potter.
"It's quite a contrast, but it's a great challenge and a lot of fun to play someone whose character is based on pure, simple faith and love of life, and another character who is a mean, miserly, nasty person, who is basically a lonely, isolated individual within his community," says O'Neill.
It's a lot of fun to work on this play because the overall story is so uplifting, he says. "It's about caring and community and sacrifice. I sometimes even find myself rooting for George Bailey even as I'm trying to undo him as Potter," he says, adding, "It's kind of fun to play a villain-type role, but it's also a lot of fun to play Clarence because he's almost a child in his wide-eyed innocence."
While the work of the actors is important to the success of the show, so are the design and production teams.
"We've assembled quite possibly one of the best design and production teams we could have in this country. Patrick Clark and Mike (Doherty) are our resident designers this year and they're phenomenal, and we've also got Leigh Ann Vardy, a nationally recognized lighting designer," says Marshall.
"Because this show sort of depends on imagination and magic, weaving back and forth between different worlds, it was important to me that we had a very strong, imaginative lighting designer."
Doherty, TNB's resident sound designer and composer, is one of the three sound effect artists that will be in costume on stage.
"It's a very layered show. It certainly has its genesis as a '40s radio drama and that relies heavily on sound to create the world of the story we're telling," he says.
The first part of his journey with It's a Wonderful Life was to research how a lot of these sounds are made.
"They're not specifically written into the script. It's sound of rustling bushes, sound of a car ... there is no indication of how it might be done live," he explains. "I'm a sound designer, so I'm used to thinking about that stuff, but not necessarily what it might also look like to an audience to watch that sound be created."
There is an element of performance to the creation of the sounds, says Doherty.
"You have to measure that with not upstaging the storytelling. There is all this stuff happening together to make a cohesive (production)."
While every show has its challenges, he found it interesting to go back in time and discover how some of the sounds were made.
"I love this story. I love Christmas. ... Any great heartwrenching, heartwarming story is about redemption of some kind. You want to see someone mess up and redeem themselves at the end," says Doherty. "It's innocent. You deal with simple happiness and simple sadness and how beautiful all that is."
It's a Wonderful Life runs Dec. 3-6 at The Playhouse, with shows at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
"We have an opportunity to kick off the Christmas season and I think there are people for who it has become a part of their tradition," says Marshall. "This is a great opportunity for them to see it come to life, and I hope we're also able to introduce it to a new generation and it will eventually become a Christmas tradition for people who have not experienced the story in the past."
Tickets are on sale at The Playhouse box office or through www.tnb.nb.ca.
Fast facts
What: It's a Wonderful Life
Information: Theatre New Brunswick presents It's a Wonderful Life, the heartwarming holiday classic, at The Playhouse from Dec. 3-6, with shows at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Contact: Tickets are available at The Playhouse box office or through www.tnb.nb.ca
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