Welcome
Introduction from the Script
About the Playwright
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE:
A LIVE RADIO PLAY
is available through Playscripts.com
Welcome!
Inspired by the classic American film, It's a Wonderful Life, It's
a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play is performed as a 1940s live radio
broadcast in front of a studio audience. Five actors perform the dozens
of characters in the radio play as well as produce the sound effects.
It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play premiered in 1996 at Stamford
Center for the Arts in Stamford, Connecticut, and has since been produced
around the country to critical acclaim.
This website is a resource for producers interested in staging It's
a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, and features an introduction
to the play, character breakdown, a review archive and other information.
Introduction
from the Script
The following Introduction/Acknowledgments appear in the printed
version of the
script.
Bringing Frank Capra's classic film to the stage began almost twenty
years ago when longtime friend Frances Kondziela asked me to pen an
adaptation for her high school ensemble. After the premiere of this
original incarnation, the piece was produced by TheatreWorks in New
Milford, CT, and was then chosen for its first professional production
at the legendary Westport Country Playhouse. When the budget of this
(still full-scale, literally putting the film on stage) production skyrocketed
and was dropped from the slate, the concept of staging the piece as
a live radio play of the period was born. This radio play adaptation
was originally mounted at Stamford Center for the Arts in 1996, and
has been performed there since with great success. It was at Stamford
that the play was fine tuned and took shape as the piece published here.
Through word of mouth alone, productions have since taken place around
the country, including the noted Chicago premiere at American Theatre
Company. My thanks to all those who have been involved since the beginning
of the this journey, including Frances Kondziela, Jim McKenzie, Julie
Monahan, George Moredock, Doug Moser, Jane Desy, Barbara Meyer, Cathy
Mulligan, Kevin Connors, Colin Eastland, Achilles Tsakiridis, Doug and
everyone at Playscripts.com and my loving and supportive parents, Paul
and Mary, sister Hope and brother Tom. And thanks to you, dear reader,
for your interest in retelling this timeless tale.
-
Joe Landry (August 2006)
Script
and Licensing for IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE:
A LIVE RADIO PLAY is available through Playscripts.com
JOE LANDRY (Playwright) At age 12, Joe's first job was in the film department at the library in his hometown of Fairfield, CT. This was before the dawn of home video, back in the days of 16mm, and their permanent collection included It's a Wonderful Life, The Lady Vanishes and other early Hitchcock films. Joe's other main interest was the theatre. Encouraged by his parents, Joe was introduced to various theatres which he came to call home, including Playwrights Horizons and Roundabout Theatre Company in New York, Westport Country Playhouse and others. In 1995, Joe founded Second Guess Theatre Company, which produced over two dozen new plays, adaptations and revivals to critical-acclaim. In 1997, It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play premiered in Stamford, CT and has since enjoyed productions around the country. Joe's other plays include Vintage Hitchcock: A Live Radio Play and an adaptation of the cult classic Reefer Madness. Other projects include Mothers and Sons, a musical co-written with Kevin Connors. joelandry.com
