Up on the Marquee: IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE Lands on Broadway

Coming up at the Broadhurst Theatre, just in time for the holidays, is It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, directed by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks. Adapted for the stage by Joe Landry and based on the story “The Greatest Gift” by Philip Van Doren Stern, the play transports audiences to a 1940s radio studio, where a company of celebrated actors gathers to perform Frank Capra’s timeless classic, live on-the-air, complete with a foley artist and holiday carols.

Five of stage and screen's most beloved and dynamic stars will bring a bevy of Bedford Falls characters to life for the Broadway debut of It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. Two-time Tony nominee Andrew Rannells (Gutenberg!, The Book of Mormon) leads the company as George Bailey, opposite two-time Tony nominee Megan Hilty (Death Becomes Her, "Smash") as Mary Bailey. Six-time Emmy nominee Tituss Burgess (Oh, Mary!, "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt") earns his wings as Clarence and others, Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Harry Hamlin (“Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches,” "L.A. Law," "Mad Men”) takes on the villainous Mr. Potter and others, and four-time Emmy nominee Lisa Rinna ("Days of Our Lives," “The Traitors,” "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills") plays Violet and others. 

It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play invites theatergoers to take their seats in the live  studio audience of a 1940s radio broadcast, high above New York City at  Christmastime, where a company of actors has gathered to perform one of the most  beloved holiday stories ever told. It’s the timeless story of George Bailey, a man who  has spent his life putting the needs of others before his own. When a crisis forces him  to look back on the life he’s lived, he discovers just how much one person can mean  to the people around him. Jerry Zaks’ joyful production brings the town of Bedford Falls  to life, with the actors playing dozens of characters, a foley artist creating sound  effects live onstage, and, of course, some carols along the way. It’s the holiday classic  you know by heart, on Broadway for the first time ever. 

Based on the 1943 short story "The Greatest Gift" by Philip Van Doren Stern, Frank  Capra’s heartwarming masterpiece film It’s A Wonderful Life was released in 1946 and  nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. 2026 marks the 80th  anniversary of the film, which is still embraced today as a cherished holiday tradition  by families around the world. Joe Landry’s adaptation, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live  Radio Play first premiered in Connecticut in 1996, at Stamford Center for the Arts, and  has since become one of the most produced plays in the country. This production  marks the play’s Broadway premiere. The story ‘The Greatest Gift’ is used by permission  of The Greatest Gift Corporation. 

Photo Credit: Jennifer Broski