Charlotte Moore to Helm IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE at Irish Rep, Beginning 12/5

Irish Repertory Theatre continues its 25th Anniversary Season with IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, The 1946 Live Radio Play, with previews set to begin December 5, prior to its official Off-Broadway opening on Monday, December 10 on The Irish Repertory Theatre's W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre (132 West 22nd Street). Charlotte Moore (DANCING AT LUGHNASA, NEW GIRL IN TOWN) directs.

Christmas Eve in America, 1946. George Bailey, the nicest guy in town, is in a terrible predicament... he's perched precariously on the Bedford Fall Bridge threatening suicide! Enter Clarence, his Guardian Angel, who has not yet earned his wings. Clarence takes George in hand and shows him what the small town of Bedford Falls would have been had he never been born.

Set in a radio station in the 1940's, with a busy live sound FX artist and six actors playing 25 characters, this poignant Christmas Drama comes vividly to life.

The cast includes Rory Duffy (Irish Rep's THE SHAUGHRAUN), Katie Fabel (Irish Rep's ERNEST IN LOVE), Kristin Griffith (Mint Theatre's Mary Broome), Ian Holcombe (TFNA's THE BROKEN HEART), Peter Maloney (Irish Rep's ERNEST IN LOVE), and Max Gordon Moore (Irish Rep & Project Shaw's MAN & SUPERMAN). Production Stage Manager is Michael Palmer.

The production feature live sound design by Zach Williamson.

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, the live radio play has been adapted by Anthony E. Palermo from the Screenplay by Francis Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra and Jo Swerling.

Charlotte Moore's recent directing credits include NEW GIRL IN TOWN, Brian Friel's DANCING AT LUGHNASA and MOLLY SWEENEY, A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES, THE IRISH… AND HOW THEY GOT THAT WAY, ERNEST IN LOVE, and WHITE WOMAN STREET. She has also directed The Irish Repertory Theatre's concert productions of OLIVER!, CAMELOT and BRIGADOON on Broadway.

Co-founded by Producing Director Ciarán O'Reilly and Artistic Director Charlotte Moore, The Irish Repertory Theatre opened its doors in September 1988 with Sean O'Casey's THE PLOUGH AND THE STARS. The mission of the theatre was and remains to bring works by Irish and Irish American masters and contemporary playwrights to American audiences; to provide a context for understanding the contemporary Irish American experience; and to encourage the development of new works focusing on the Irish and Irish American experience, as well as a range of other cultures. Ms. Moore and Mr. O'Reilly received the 2011 Eugene O'Neill Lifetime Achievement Award from Irish American Writers & Artists, Inc.

Also at The Irish Repertory Theatre, beginning previews November 29 on its Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage, is Phil Coulter in THE SONGS I LOVE SO WELL, with performances also through December 30.

Off-Broadway performances of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, The 1946 Live Radio Play, run at The Irish Repertory Theatre's W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre (132 West 22nd Street), December 5-30: Wednesdays at 3pm and 8pm; Thursdays at 7pm; Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays at 3pm and 8pm; and Sundays at 3pm (additional performance Tuesday, December 18 at 8pm; no performance December 25). Opening Night is Monday, December 10 at 7pm. Tickets are $40. For reservations, call the box office at 212-727-2737 or visit www.irishrep.org.

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