Frank Capra News

The Theater Project will present its holiday production of "It's a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play" on Saturday, November 30, 2013.

The Harbor Lights Theater Company, led by Executive Artistic Director Tamara Jenkins and Associate Artistic Director Jay Montgomery, is presenting It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, by Joe Landry, for the holiday season.

Producing Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside and American Blues Theater, Chicago's second oldest Equity ensemble, recently announce the return of the critically-acclaimed It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!, directed by Marty Higginbotham, now at its new venue: the mainstage of the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., tonight, November 22 - December 29.

Downtown Monmouth is the place to be on Sunday, December 1 for Light up the Holidays! an afternoon filled with holiday cheer celebrating downtown Monmouth and our surrounding community.

ArtsCentric will present "It's A Wonderful Life", a modern staged multi-cultural adaptation of the Frank Capra film, in Garland Theater on the campus of The Garrison Forest School (300 Garrison Forest Road, Owings Mills, MD 21117). Join ArtsCentric for an evening of family holiday fun! In the spirit of giving, and in keeping with ArtsCentric's longstanding commitment to community service, ArtsCentric will use a portion of proceeds towards it's participation in The Family Tree's Adopt-A-Family program. Performances are December 6-8 & 13-15; Fridays & Saturdays @ 7:30pm, Sundays @ 5pm. Tickets are $20-$25 and are available by calling (410) 504-5398, or by visiting www.ArtsCentric.net.

As a special treat for the holiday season Shakespeare & Company presents It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, inspired by Frank Capra's classic 1946 film starring Donna Reed and James Stewart. Filled with just the right hint of nostalgia and charm, director Jenna Ware brings audiences back to the Golden Age of radio with this poignant, funny and unique play-within-a-play that will leave you believing in angels!

The Harbor Lights Theater Company, led by Executive Artistic Director Tamara Jenkins and Associate Artistic Director Jay Montgomery, is presenting It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, by Joe Landry, for the holiday season.

Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF warms Central Florida audiences with the holiday cheer of Joe Landry's It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. Performed as a 1940s live radio broadcast and directed by Florida Rep's founding Producing Artistic Director, Robert Cacioppo, It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play begins December 4 and runs through December 29, 2013 at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Loch Haven Park. Tickets ($17-$40) may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (407) 447-1700 or online at http://orlandoshakes.org.

Tennessee Shakespeare Company, the Mid-South's professional classical theatre, returns last year's holiday hit It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play with a new look both on stage and in the audience to Dixon Gallery & Garden's Winegardner Auditorium from November 20 - December 8 in Memphis.

Tacoma Little Theatre warms up the holiday season with its stage adaptation of Frank Capra's classic film It's a Wonderful Life by Anthony Palermo.

Know Theatre has announced nearly a full calendar year of programming as a part or our new programming model. Several months ago Know Theatre enacted our new strategic plan which moves us away from the traditional season model allowing us more flexibility in how we approach our programming.

American Blues Theater, one of Chicago's oldest Equity ensemble, and Producing Director Gwendolyn Whiteside are proud to announce the return of the critically acclaimed It's a Wonderful Life: Live in Chicago!, directed by Marty Higginbotham, now at its new venue: the mainstage of the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N. Lincoln Ave., November 22 - December 29. Pink Previews, where tickets sales benefit the Lynn Sage Foundation for breast cancer research, are Friday, Nov. 22 and Saturday, Nov. 23 at 7:30 p.m. The press/opening night performance is Sunday, Nov. 24 at 2:30 p.m. The running time is approximately 90 minutes. Tickets are $19-$49 and are on sale now through the box office 773.404.7336 or online at americanbluestheater.com. The performance schedule is Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Additional holiday performances are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 30 at 4:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 1 at 5:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 8 and 15 at 5:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 21 at 4:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 22 at 5:30 p.m. Limited complimentary parking is available at the former Children's Memorial Hospital lot, 2316 N. Lincoln Ave. For more information visit www.americanbluestheater.com.

Horse Trade Theater Group will present RadioTheatre and their original, live, audio-theatre adaptation by Dan Bianchi of MEET JOHN DOE, Frank Capra's 1940 Oscar nominated classic, which starred Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. The story takes place in NYC at Christmas time during the Depression, when America's economy is at an all-time low. In order to sell papers, a reporter's fraudulent story turns a tramp into a national hero and makes him a pawn of wealthy businessmen who wish to create a third political party and take over the country. MEET JOHN DOE will be performed complete with a great cast of storytellers, an original orchestral score and a plethora of sound effects.

This winter, Steve Murray's adaptation of Frank Capra's holiday classic, It's a Wonderful Life, returns to Theater at Monmouth. With its hilariously touching message of hope and love, This Wonderful Life reminds us of the power of perspective, family, and community just in time for the holiday season.

Irish Repertory Theatre will continue its current season with a revival of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, The 1946 Live Radio Play, adapted by Anthony E. Palermo from the screenplay by Francis Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra and Jo Swerling. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, The 1946 Live Radio Play premiered last year at the Irish Repertory Theatre with a production directed by Charlotte Moore (JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK, DANCING AT LUGHNASA). Once again directed by Ms. Moore, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, The 1946 Live Radio Play will begin previews on Wednesday, December 4th and will play through Sunday, December 29th in The Irish Repertory Theatre's W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre (132 West 22nd Street). The official press opening is Tuesday, December 10th.

Sir Howard Stringer, Chair of the American Film Institute's Board of Trustees, announced today the Board's decision to honor Jane Fonda with the 42nd AFI Life Achievement Award

Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF warms Central Florida audiences with the holiday cheer of Joe Landry's It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. Performed as a 1940s live radio broadcast and directed by Florida Rep's founding Producing Artistic Director, Robert Cacioppo, It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play begins December 4 and runs through December 29, 2013 at the John and Rita Lowndes Shakespeare Center in Loch Haven Park. Tickets ($17-$40) may be purchased by calling the Box Office at (407) 447-1700 or online at http://orlandoshakes.org.

When it comes to American Theatre from the 1930s, one of the leading writing duos was George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. This pair is integral in the development of Modern American Theatre. They are often studied in survey courses that chart the progression of the art form, as most agree that together they wrote some of America's favorite comedies. Their hilarious and heartwarming 1936 play YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU premiered at the Booth Theater on December 14, 1936 and ran for 837 performances. It also won the 1937 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. When it was adapted for film by Frank Capra and Robert Riskin in 1938, it won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. Now, in 2013, The Alley Theatre is reviving the classic and hysterical masterpiece about an eccentric family that is happily surviving the Great Depression. It's 1936, and their key to bliss is embrace the love they have for one another, their hobbies, and to find ways to simply enjoy the life they've got.

The Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Boulevard in downtown Aurora, Illinois, is your home for holiday entertainment this December, with a surprising variety of seasonal pleasures for young and old.

Meet John Doe, the Jonathan Larson Award-winning musical by Andrew Gerle and Eddie Sugarman, will be released on the Broadway Records label on November 19th, 2013. The album can be pre-ordered on Amazon.com at http://amzn.com/B00FAD1GPA and features Heidi Blickenstaff ([title of show], Addams Family), who received a 2007 Helen Hayes Award for the show's world premiere production at the Ford's Theatre in DC. Joining her from the Ford's production are James Moye (Million Dollar Quartet, Full Monty) as John Doe and two-time Tony Award nominee Joel Blum (Show Boat, Steel Pier), as well as Tony Award nominee Robert Cuccioli (Jekyll & Hyde, Spiderman), John Jellison (Memphis), andAndrew Keenan-Bolger (Newsies).