Full Cast Revealed for IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE! at Jermyn Street Theatre
Director Jessica Lazar leads Stefan Bednarczyk, Mary Higgins, Iniki Mariano, Griffin Stevens, David Webber, and Lachlan Werner in a 1940s radio studio production.
Jermyn Street Theatre has announced the full cast for Anthony E. Palermo's adaptation of Frank Capra's beloved 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life!, one of the most iconic Christmas stories of all time.
Jessica Lazar directs Stefan Bednarczyk, Mary Higgins, Iniki Mariano, Griffin Stevens, David Webber, and Lachlan Werner in an inventive production that transforms the intimate Jermyn Street Theatre into a 1940s radio studio, with Bednarczyk also performing live piano on stage. The production opens on 24 November, with previews from 19 November, and is running until 3 January 2027.
Based on Capra's film, which is based on Philip Van Doren Stern's short story The Greatest Gift, this imaginative adaptation reimagines the timeless Christmas classic as a live radio broadcast. The six actors will use multi-roling, live music, and sound effects to create a charming festive treat for audiences.
Jessica Lazar said, "Almost every actor in It's A Wonderful Life plays twelve roles or more, and the skill it takes to do that well is rare, extraordinary, and a joy to watch. Building this ensemble was demanding but full of fun. I can't wait to begin rehearsals.”
Director: Jessica Lazar; Set Designer: Tina Torbey; Costume Designer: Anna Lewis;
A bitterly cold Christmas Eve. Down in the basement of Jermyn Street Theatre FM, six actors gather round the microphone and a piano for a live radio broadcast. The ON AIR sign flashes red. We're whisked away to Upstate New York where George Bailey stands on a bridge, ready to jump. Enter unlikely hero Clarence Odbody. Can this second-class angel convince George that life is worth living and finally earn his wings?
Adapted from Frank Capra's cherished film, this inventive new production transforms Jermyn Street Theatre into a 1940s radio studio. A troupe of multi-roling actors will conjure an entire world with the magic of sound via ingenious stagecraft, unforgettable performances and a flurry of theatrical magic. Jessica Lazar returns to direct a wildly charming festive treat.
It's a Wonderful Life! is based on the story, The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern, which story here is used by permission of The Greatest Gift Corporation.
Biographies
Philip Van Doren Stern (1900 – 1984) was an American writer, editor and prominent Civil War historian who wrote 40 books. He is best known for his 1943 Christmas short story The Greatest Gift, which inspired the classic 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life.
Anthony E. Palermo is an American playwright, radio dramatist, composer and sound-effects artist with over 25 years professional experience and more than 2,500 shows across radio and theatre, including A Christmas Carol and War of the Worlds.
Stefan Bednarczyk's theatre credits include Twelfth Night (Orange Tree Theatre), Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Sondheim Theatre), Semi-Monde (Lyric Theatre), The Games of Love and Chance (National Theatre), The L.A. Plays (Almeida Theatre), Five O' Clock Angel (Hampstead Theatre and King's Head Theatre), The Killing of Mr Toad, The Grand Duke (Finborough Theatre), and Christmas Spirits (The Other Palace). As a cabaret performer his credits include Coward & Friends (Menier Chocolate Factory), Noël Coward's Christmas Spirit (The Other Palace), Stefan Bednarczyk: King of Cabaret (Jermyn Street Theatre), and An Evening of Flanders and Swann (The Pheasantry and Jermyn Street Theatre).
Mary Higgins's theatre credits include Ham (Soho Theatre and Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Hotter, Fitter (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Hamlet (National Theatre and Brooklyn Academy of Music), and The Last Show Before We Die (Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Yard Theatre). Their television credits include Twenty Twenty Six, Traitors, and The English Game; and for film, Digger, She Said, Misbehaviour, and Cinderella.
Iniki Mariano's theatre credits include Murder on the Orient Express (international tour), George (UK tour), The Garden of Words (Park Theatre), The Lodger (Coronet Theatre), Peter Pan (National Theatre and Bristol Old Vic), The Jungle Book (Derby Theatre), and Can't Wait for Christmas! (Orange Tree Theatre); and for television, Cast Me!, SEED, The Retreat, Jam, and The Seekers.
Griffin Stevens' theatre credits include Dear England (National Theatre and Prince Edward Theatre), Leopoldstadt (Harold Pinter Theatre), Inkheart, Romeo and Juliet (HOME Manchester), A Skull in Connemara, Blood, Fish and Bone (Oldham Coliseum), Dealer's Choice, In Praise of Love, The Chosen Ones, Deathtrap (UK tours), Jack and the Beanstalk (Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse), Clearance (Southwark Playhouse), and In the Ring (Battersea Arts Centre). His television credits include Star City, Absentia, The Split, Filthy Cities, Comment on Relationships, and Glue; and for film, Your Fault: London, Fuze, The Critic, Wolves of War, The Roads Not Taken, Burning Men, The Dare, Brimstone, The Dark Channel, and The Circle.
David Webber's theatre credits include After Sunday (Bush Theatre), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Bridge Theatre), Watch on the Rhine (Donmar Warehouse), Small Island (National Theatre), A Place for We (Park Theatre), 2020 Collection: A New America (Tara Theatre), Wonderful Storybook (Theatre Peckham), The High Table (Bush Theatre and Birmingham Rep), Barber Shop Chronicles (National Theatre and international tour), Arms and the Man (Watford Palace Theatre), The Hudsucker Proxy (UK tour), Catch-22 (Northern Stage), Sweet Bird of Youth (The Old Vic), The Government Inspector (Young Vic Theatre), Twelfth Night (Nottingham Playhouse), The Big Life (Apollo Theatre), and What's in the Cat (Royal Court Theatre). His television credits include Silent Witness, My Lady Jane, Get Millie Blakc, The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself, Father Brown, The Flatshare, Death in Paradise, Year of the Rabbit, Chewing Gum, How Not to Live Your Life, Being Human, and Grass; and for film, Hard Truths, The Children Act, Captain Phillips, Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont, London Voodoo, All or Nothing, 51st State, All or Nothing, and The Avengers.
Lachlan Werner's theatre credits include Sleeper Hit (Edinburgh Festival Fringe - winner of Golden Goose Award), Voices of Evil (Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Brighton Fringe, Soho Theatre and international tour), Fools Moon Dance Plague (UK tour), Fools Moon (Soho Theatre), and WonderTwunk (Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Soho Theatre). Werner is also an award-winning ventriloquist, clown, writer and comedian.
Jessica Lazar returns to Jermyn Street Theatre following her production of Outlying Islands. Her further directing credits include Memoriam (Royal Court Theatre - staged reading), Bellringers (Hampstead Theatre and Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Dangerous Giant Animals (Park Theatre and Edinburgh Festival Fringe - winner of Evening Standard's Best New Writing at Edinburgh Fringe Award), SAP (Mayflower Studios and Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Twenty-Eight (Theatre503), Write Wild: Blockbusters (Park Theatre), The Gift (Oxford Playhouse), ¡Corre! (Run!) (Cervantes Theatre), Anna Bella Eema (Arcola Theatre), This is a Love Story, The Unicorn (North Wall), Outlying Islands, For Reasons That Remain Unclear, East (King's Head Theatre), Nick Hall: Spencer (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Deadly Dialogues (3LD New York and Edinburgh Festival Fringe), and Life According to Saki (New York Theatre Workshop 4th Street Theatre, New York and Edinburgh Festival Fringe).
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