GTA Presents IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, Now thru 12/28

In 1949, U.S. armed forces were recovering from World War II while grappling with an aggressive Soviet Union following the division of East and West Germany; RCA perfected a system for broadcasting television programs in color (though most households wouldn't have a color TV for 10 years) and gas was 17 cents a gallon. After years of suffering in the war effort, the post-war prosperity was just beginning, with homes, cars and hair-dos getting bigger.

Against this backdrop, GTA's production of "It's a Wonderful Life", a staged radio play set in 1949, will take place Dec. 18-28 on the Gainesville Square, creating a local "Bedford Falls" where neighbors visit the local shops and chime holiday wishes to each other. The show, with an all-professional six-person cast, will be staged in Brenau University's Theatre on the Square (200 Main St., Gainesville, the former Georgia Mountain Center) - as a joint celebration of GTA's 35th and WDUN's 65th anniversaries and will be GTA's first time in their old space since the 2001 season.

"The Gainesville Theatre Alliance is celebrating its 35th season serving northeast Georgia audience, so we wanted to do something to give back to the community that has been so supportive, both as patrons and volunteers," explained Jim Hammond, GTA Artistic and Managing Director. "Since Brenau has moved into the Downtown Center, we can go back to one of our original performance spaces right in the middle of town and to do a story about the powerful good that happens when a community comes together -- a taste of Bedford Falls here on the Gainesville Square."

For anyone who might be uninitiated, "It's a Wonderful Life" is a Christmas comedy-drama about George Bailey, a compassionate but despairing young businessman who sacrifices his dreams for years to help family, neighbors and community, but in a desperate moment, needs his guardian angel, Clarence, to show him that his life has made a difference.

The cast includes 4 alumni of the GTA training program, including James Taylor Odom and Amelia Hammond Fischer as George and Mary Bailey. Odom was frequently on the GTA stage in his undergraduate years in roles such as The Importance of Being Earnest's Jack Worthing and Hairspray's Wilbur Turnblad. He is a Brenau graduate and currently in his final year as an MFA graduate student in the University of Arkansas theatre program. Fischer, daughter of Jim and Gay Hammond, grew up in the theatre and appeared in GTA's Front Page and Dracula and numerous WonderQuest shows, including Sophie and the Pirates. She got her MFA from the University of Houston and is returning from her base in Houston, TX, where she has been active with the Houston and Tennessee Shakespeare companies.

"This is a dream come true for me," Odom admits. "Irving Berlin's" White Christmas" was [my family's] tradition, so I discovered George Bailey on my own, on an old VHS we had boxed up somewhere, and that first viewing began a long journey with me and Bedford Falls.

"I am still captivated by his story most likely for the same reason the world is still captivated; George Bailey is the everyman. We long to see George stand up for those who cannot stand on their own. We see his dreams left unfulfilled which reminds us of the ones we never pursued, and we're empowered by the imprint those sacrifices have made on the hearts of all those around him. As Clarence says in the film, "Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?"... It leaves [us with] a lasting question: How can I be a George Bailey for someone today?"

Fischer, who grew up in Gainesville, is anxious to return "home," and especially to the Gainesville Square, where she had her first job, learned to parallel park and enjoyed long talks with friends over coffee. She is very familiar with Mary Bailey since she has had the role twice in Memphis, TN, for Tennessee Shakespeare.

"This story is about a community learning to come together; cultivating generosity, behaving ethically even when it isn't the easiest path, and expressing love for neighbors, friends, and family," Fischer explains. "All of these are things I learned in Gainesville."

The other actors in the cast all portray 1940s-era radio personalities playing multiple characters within a radio play, including the Scrooge-like Mr. Potter, George's friends Bert and Ernie, and local lady in distress, Violet. The cast creates their own live sound effects. In the theatre, patrons will be welcomed to the lobby with holiday music and warm cups of spiced cider - with the idea of bringing people to the Square for holiday merriment and celebration.

In addition, patrons are encouraged to come in 1940s costume on the production's Dec. 18 Opening Night to help create a fun and nostalgic atmosphere. Everyone who comes in costume will be entered into a drawing for prizes from local merchants and including tickets to GTA's spring productions.

Tickets to "It's a Wonderful Life" are $15 for adults and seniors and $10 for students and children. Patrons can select their own seats on the GTA website, www.gainesvilleTHEATREalliance.org, or purchase tickets by calling the Box Office at 678.717.3624, Monday-Friday, 10am to 4pm. Groups with 12 or more seats can get a 20% discount by calling the Box Office; ADA seating is also available through the Box Office - 678.717.3624.

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