"It's a Wonderful Life,' at the Prince

It's a Wonderful Life, the new musical at the Prince Music Theater, is a pleasant holiday diversion. It could have been more.

This version surrounds the famous Frank Capra-William Van Doren Stern-Frances Goodrich-Albert Hackett drama with a re-creation of a live radio broadcast from 1946, the year that movie was made. The production veers between the touching story of George Bailey, the decent owner of a small town building and loan company, and a campy send-up of old-time radio. Some of the trappings are accurate and evocative of the period, but some other details ring false. Similarly, some of the acting is committed and heartfelt while other moments are arch and over the top. The playwright and director fail to maintain a steady focus.

Too bad, because opportunity abounds for a straight-up interpretation of the original story set against the dark side of life in 1946 America, when Americans lived in fear about the atomic age, the Cold War with the Soviet Union, Communist scares, blacklisting and more labor strikes than at any time since the mid-1930s. Perhaps the staff of radio station WPMT itself (a fictional Philly station named for the Prince Music Theater) might have been preparing to go on strike. Perhaps one of the actors might have been blacklisted and barred from the broadcast.

All right— back to reviewing the play at hand, as my old journalism professor taught me, not the play I wish I'd seen. This entertainment does include dialogue that'll send a chill up your spine. George Bailey must quell the panic of his depositors who face the foreclosure of their mortgages and, possibly, the failure of George's bank. George talks about a possible bailout before a 6 p.m. deadline. This was a flashback scene set in the 1930s. Or was it yesterday?

"'Auld Lang Syne' and all that

The Prince production aims to please its audience, and it succeeds. The story, you'll recall, ends with George realizing that no one is a failure if he has friends. That happy ending is punctuated with Christmas carols and "Auld Lang Syne" and everyone leaves the theater smiling.

Pete Pryor, one of our town's best actors, does a credible job in the central role of George Bailey. His characterization is a bit colorless; he could have used more of a gee-whiz approach, but perhaps he and his director wanted to avoid comparisons with Jimmy Stewart from the film. Jennifer Page as George's wife Mary embodies the sweetness and innocence of many postwar women and maintains this persona while acting George's wife and singing beautifully.

Tom McCarthy plays a myriad of small roles with aplomb, from children to crotchety old men. He sings well, too. The other performers work very hard, but much of their acting is over-wrought. And when they impersonate kids, they sound as if they're playing for laughs.

Instead of 105 actors…

The costuming is first-rate, especially the ladies' suits, hairdos, hat and hairnet. The set is minimal, which is OK: In today's hard times it makes sense to re-create a radio studio rather than construct an entire town, its homes and its businesses. And there's no way any stage production can compete with the 105 actors used in the film, so this play follows the standard radio practice of using its actors in multiple roles.

The production fills time with radio commercials for Tastykake and Wanamaker's and with '40s music, some of it on records, some sung live by the cast. Collin Maier deserves praise for his music direction, original composition, piano playing and singing. Jeff Lorenz handles the sound effects and plays an eerie-sounding theremin.

Not to be confused with….

Nit-picking: Frank Loesser's "Baby It's Cold Outside" is introduced as one of "today's (1946) hit tunes"; the song was not recorded and did not become popular until 1949. (Loesser wrote it in 1944, but only for performing with his wife, at private parties.)

This radio play by Joe Landry shouldn't be confused with A Wonderful Life, a musical adaptation of the film written by Sheldon Harnick and Joe Raposo, which received a staged concert version in New York in 2005. Yet another version is Wonderful Life!: The Musical, with book by Douglas Holmes, lyrics by Walter Willison and music by John Kroner. It premiered in Indianapolis in 1987. Not to mention two other spinoffs I haven't yet heard: one written by lyricist James W. Rodgers with music by John Higgins from 2004, and another from 1998 by lyricist Keith Ferguson and composer Bruce Greer. The latter claims to contain "a clear Christian message."