Capra Holiday Classic Reimagined As Radio Play

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Dec 16, 2010 8:45PM

Allow us this opinion about "It's a Wonderful Life" for a moment, will you? For the longest time we found James Stewart's George Bailey to be not so much of a selfless family man as he was a milquetoast pussy who sacrificed his dreams to the point where he wound up being suicidal. It's really two-plus hours of depressing movie that we've made more palatable in recent years by sneaking a flask into the Music Box and hissing at the screen every time Lionel Barrymore ("Happy New Year to you... in jail!") is in scene, or catcalling whenever Donna Reed — the hottest old maid we've ever seen — graces the story.

We will allow that the story makes for a good radio play, as playwright Joe Landry has. Especially since Landry cut the story down to less than 90 minutes. American Theater Company (1909 W. Byron St., 773-409-4125) is now in its ninth year of staging Landry's radio play interpretation. And they serve the audience milk and cookies after every performance. ATC's running of "It's a Wonderful Life" runs Thursdays through Sunday through December 26.

If you can't make that, Mrs. Murphy & Son's Irish Bistro (3905 N. Lincoln Ave., 773-248-3905) will also stage the radio play in their upstairs space at 7 p.m. Make sure the bartender rings up no sales, so he can give angels their wings.