Marc Kudisch, Mary Testa, Barbara Walsh Join Cast of One-Night-Only IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Transport Group has announced casting for its one-night-only performance of the Frank Capra holiday classic, It's a Wonderful Life, directed by Artistic Director Jack Cummings III, which takes place Monday, December 12, at 8pm, at The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, 18 Bleecker Street.

Joining Obie and Drama Desk winner Donna Lynne Champlin (CW's "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend"), who stars as George Bailey, are Barbara Andres (On Golden Pond, Cabaret, Our Town) as Mr. Gower; Sherry D. Boone (Jelly's Last Jam, Marie Christine) as Mary Hatch; Marc Kudisch (three-time Tony nominee, Thoroughly Modern Millie, 9 to 5) as Nick the Bartender; Michael Mastro (Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Side Man) as Uncle Billy; Maryann Plunkett (Tony winner, Me and My Girl) as Clarence; Mary Testa (three-time Tony nominee, Queen of the Mist, Oklahoma!) as Henry F. Potter; Barbara Walsh (Tony nominee, Falsettos, Company) as Ma Bailey; and Nick Westrate (Drama Desk winner, The Boys in the Band, Casa Valentina) as Violet Bick.

It's a Wonderful Life is the story of George Bailey, a deeply frustrated businessman struggling to hold on to his values. When the fate of his father's company is in jeopardy, George begins to question every element of his life. Interrupting a dark night of the soul, a guardian angel named Clarence appears to show him what life would have been like if he had never existed. Based on the classic 1946 film starring James Stewart, Donna Reed, and Lionel Barrymore, directed by Frank Capra, and widely considered to be one of the greatest films of all time, the evening examines what makes life worth living-a theme that has resonated for generations.

Courtesy of The Donna Reed Foundation, the benefit includes an appearance by Mary Owen, daughter of Oscar winner Donna Reed, who will introduce the evening.

It's a Wonderful Life is adapted by Joe Landry, based on the story "The Greatest Gift" by Philip Van Doren Stern from the screenplay by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra, and Jo Swerling. The evening features live, incidental music composed for the evening by Ted Shen (Broadbend, Arkansas) and Carmel Dean (Renascence).

Rounding out the evening's cast are George Abud (Broadway The Band's Visit), Lauren Blackman (Broadway The Music Man, Anastasia), Tina Chilip (TG's A Delicate Balance, CSC/Fiasco's Twelfth Night), Tim Dolan (TG's Once Upon A Mattress), Michael Hartung (Broadway Hello Dolly), Colin Hanlon (Submissions Only, Broadway Rent), David Huynh (NAATCO's Henry VI, TG's The Trial of the Catonsville Nine), Christopher Innvar (Floyd Collins, Broadway To Kill A Mockingbird), Francesca James (Emmy winner All My Children), Tina Johnson (Broadway The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, TG's Summer and Smoke), Kyra Kennedy (National Tour Waitress), Erica Knight (The Summoning), Danny Kornfeld (Harmony, TG's Renascence), Kelly McAndrew (Broadway Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, TG's Almost Maine), Emma Orelove (TG's Our Town), Jennifer Piech (Broadway Titanic, TG's Picnic and Come Back, Little Sheba), Blair Ross (Broadway Side Show, 42nd Street), Tally Sessions (Broadway Company, Falsettos, TG's Queen of the Mist), Nancy Shayne (Sex and the City, TG's Marcy in the Galaxy), Cheryl Stern (Broadway La Cage Aux Folles, The Women), Tatiana Wechsler (Broadway Mr. Saturday Night), and John Wellmann (TG's The Boys in the Band, Our Town).

Transport Group (Jack Cummings III, Artistic Director; Denise Dickens, Executive Director) is an off-Broadway theatre company whose work has been called "storytelling at its purest" by The New York Times, "at once faithful and irreverent." Since the company was founded in 2001 by Jack Cummings III and Robyn Hussa, Transport Group has produced 35 shows: 17 new works and 18 revivals, including three New York premieres and six commissioned works. The company has received a special New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, three Drama Desk Awards including a special one "for its breadth of vision and its presentation of challenging productions," nine Obie Awards, an Outer Critics Circle Award, three Off-Broadway Alliance Awards, and a Dramatists Guild Award. In addition, Transport Group's productions have received 46 Drama Desk Award nominations, eight Drama League Award nominations, four Lucille Lortel Award nominations, six Outer Critics Circle Award nominations, nine American Theatre Wing Design Award nominations, nine Off-Broadway Alliance Award nominations, four Audelco Award nominations, and a Tony Award nomination.

It's a Wonderful Life plays Monday, December 12 at 8pm at The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, 18 Bleecker Street. It's a Wonderful Life is produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc. (www.playscripts.com). Tickets start at $55 and may be purchased by visiting transportgroup.org. For more information, visit transportgroup.org or contact info@transportgroup.org. You may follow Transport Group on Instagram and Twitter @TransportGrp and on Facebook @TransportGroup.

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