Photo Coverage: The Actors' Fund's Wonderful Life Benefit Re
By: Genevieve Rafter Keddy Dec. 14, 2005
The Actors' Fund of America presented its benefit reading of Wonderful Life, the musical based on the beloved 1946
Frank Capra classic, at the Shubert Theatre on
December 12th at 7 PM.
Tony Award-winner Brian Stokes Mitchell (Man of La Mancha, Kiss Me, Kate) starred as George Bailey, with David Hyder Pierce (Spamalot, "Frasier"), Judy Kuhn (Les Miserables, She Loves Me) as Mary Bailey, Tony Award-winner Phylicia Rashad (Gem of the Ocean, A Raisin in the Sun) as Millie Bailey, Tony Award-winner Chuck Cooper (The Life, Lennon) as Uncle Billy, Nancy Anderson (Wonderful Town, A Class Act) as Violet, Philip
Bosco (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Copenhagen), as Joseph, Tony Award-winner Karen Ziemba as Mistress of Ceremonies, Marian Seldes (Dinner at Eight, Deathtrap) as Mrs. Hatch, Michael Berresse (The Light in the Piazza, Kiss Me, Kate) as Harry
Bailey, Marc Kudisch (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Thoroughly Modern Millie) as Sam Wainwright, Ronn Carroll (Oklahoma!, Annie Get Your Gun) as Tom Bailey, and Dominic Chianese ("The Sopranos") as Mr. Potter. The musical version of It's A Wonderful Life features a book and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
and music by Joe Raposo (with additional music by Harnick and Jerry
Depuit). In the holiday classic, the suicidal George Bailey is
confronted by Clarence, an aspiring angel whose mission is to make him
change his mind. Carl Andress directed, and Denis Jones provided the choreography, withchoral arrangements by Raposo, Harnick and Jeffrey Saver and dance music arrangements by Saver.
For more information on The Actors' Fund, visit www.actorsfund.org.
Joseph Benincasa
The cast of It's A Wonderful Life
Cast members of It's A Wonderful Life
Videos