IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE Opens November 30 at Mile Square Theatre

Mile Square Theatre, Hudson County's leading professional theatre, presents the holiday favorite It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. Transforming its new theatre space into a 1940's radio studio, the audience is transported to the golden age of radio, as cast members from radio station WMST perform Frank Capra's classic holiday tale of individualism, optimism and community.

The cast includes Graydon Long (Broadway: The Audience), Joel Van Liew (Public Theatre: Well), Matthew Bittner (La Jolla Playhouse: Up Here), Michelle David (Off-B'way: 40 Weeks), Patrick Massey (Off-B'way: Hounds of War), and Maggie Weston (MST Broadway Cabaret). The production is directed by MST Associate Artistic Director Mark Cirnigliaro.

The Star Ledger calls MST's production of It's a Wonderful Life, "...in a word, wonderful!" MST Artistic Director Chris O'Connor says of the revival, "We are thrilled to bring back this production to celebrate the holidays in our brand new theatre. Our audiences having been asking us to revive this show for years so they can return to their tradition of bringing their families and loved ones to MST for this holiday treat. In this current age of cynicism in America, we are so happy to bring back a production that affirms who we can be as a community."

It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, produced by Mile Square Theatre

1400 Clinton Street, Hoboken

November 30 through December 18. Wednesday-Saturday @ 8pm, Sunday @ 3pm

Tickets available at www.milesquaretheatre.org, or by calling 201-683-7014.

Tickets are $30 • $18 students and seniors.

Discount Parking available at Little Man Parking on 1300 Jefferson Street.

For more information on Mile Square Theatre, please visit www.milesquaretheatre.org.

Premiere sponsors: Little City Books and Sharon Shahinian of Halstead Properties

MST Season Sponsorship: Academy Bus, CSBK, Bijou Properties, The Brummette Family, The Burgiss Group, Hufnagel Landscaping, Ironstate, Jet.com, The Kocis Family, The Rockefeller Group

Mile Square Theatre is supported by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

This program is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey Council on the Arts/Department of state, a partner agency of the National endowment for the arts and by funds from the national endowment for the arts, administered by the Hudson county office of cultural & heritage affairs, Thomas A. Degise, County Executive, and the Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Member of The New Jersey Theatre Alliance.

COMPANY BIOS

Graydon Long (George Bailey)

Graydon Long is honored to be making his Mile Square Theatre debut. A native of Perrysburg Ohio, Graydon's favorite theater credits include: Broadway, The Audience, Regional: Billy Elliot at the Maltz Jupiter Theater, Kiss Me Kate, Singin' In the Rain, Bye Bye Birdie at the St. Louis MUNY. Off Broadway: Revolution in the Elbow... (Alex) TV: Eye Candy, The Carrie Diaries.

Joel Van Liew (Potter/Ensemble)

NY theatre: From Up Here (MTC), Well (Public Theatre). Regional theatre: Home of the Brave (Merrimack Rep), The 39 Steps (Geva), Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England (Two River Theatre), The Ve**on Play (Humana Festival, Actors Theater of Louisville), Pride and Prejudice (Actors Theater of Louisville), The Pavilion (City Theatre). TV: Boardwalk Empire, Nurse Jackie, Limitless, Law & Order, White Collar. Film: The Girl in the Book, A Birder's Guide to Everything, Monster (upcoming). Member of AEA and the Actors Center.

Maggie Weston (Mary Bailey)

Maggie Weston is a proud graduate of the University of Miami with a BFA in Musical Theatre. Since graduating, Maggie has worked on both coasts in several national commercials, films and in theater. Some of her favorite credits include co-starring in Funeral Kings, an official selection of the SXSW Film Festival, her co-starring role in Blood Relatives on Investigation Discovery, and her recent collaborations with Cosmopolitan Magazine's Interview Series. She recently performed in MST's Broadway Cabaret.

Patrick Massey (Clarence/Ensemble)

Patrick Massey (Clarence/Ensemble) is a North Carolina native and graduate of the Master's program at The Boston Conservatory. Patrick spent several years in the opera world before moving to New York and pursuing more contemporary theater. Regional Credits: Woody (Toy Story the Musical), Marius (Les Mis), Leanard (Foolerie -NYMF), Charlie (Brigadoon), Brit Craig (Parade), etc., Robert (Hounds of War), Candide (Candide). Opera credits: Heart of a Dog, Bovines Rex, La Rondine, Cosi fan tutte, etc. Be sure to check out his country bluegrass/band.

Michelle David (Violet/Ensemble)

Michelle David earned her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Michigan, then moved to NYC to study under master teachers Maggie Flanigan, Shane Ann Younts, and Lenard Petit. A founding member of InViolet Theater Company, she directed the inaugural production of Richard Etchison's Force Majeur and performed in 40 Weeks, This is Fiction, Branched, and Sommerfug with the company. Favorite film and screen credits include Yuta Silverman's Forbidden Fruit and Yale University's Craving to Quit, an app for smart-devices designed to help people use mindfulness to overcome addiction. Offstage, Michelle works as a Meditation Instructor, Desire Map Facilitator, and Life Coach at MattersMost.NYC.

Matt Bittner (Foley and Sound Design/Ensemble)

Matt Bittner is an actor, composer, and Sound Designer. Select acting credits: Up Here (La Jolla), Much Ado About Nothing (The Public Theatre), As You Like It (Two River), All Is Calm (Hudson Valley Shakes), Sweeney Todd (Pennsylvania Shakes), and A Year With Frog and Toad (Mile Square). Matt has also composed original music and designed sound for shows across the country, including several shows with Mile Square (Circle Mirror Transformation, Core Values, Cyrano). Matt is also developing/composing a new musical based on true events from the war in Kosovo called Little Krushe. Training: MFA, Rutgers University.