Photos: First Look At IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY At Portland Center Stage

See photos of George Bailey, Clarence, and the Bedford Falls community coming to life at Portland Center Stage this holiday season, in a fresh, inventive reimagining of the beloved holiday story. It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play will begin preview performances on November 19, open on November 25, and run through December 24 on the U.S. Bank Main Stage. Tickets are on sale now.

PCS Associate Artistic Director Chip Miller will direct this ensemble of local favorites, featuring John San Nicolas as George Bailey and other roles and Treasure Lunan as Clarence and other roles. Merideth Kaye Clark, Jimmy Garcia, Jamie M. Rea, and Ashley Song will complete the ensemble, in roles that range from contemporary radio personalities to iconic Bedford Falls characters, and more. The performers will also help in the creation of a full range of live, playful sound effects and original music that will lift up the show.

It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play was adapted by Joe Landry from the 1943 story The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern - which also inspired the now-classic 1946 holiday film It's a Wonderful Life. Joe Landry's stage version had its world premiere in 1996 at Stamford Center for the Arts in Connecticut. BroadwayWorld has raved that it's a "marvelous show that will please the entire family ... the radio play is entirely faithful to the classic story."

"It is such a pleasure to come together in this festive season and dive deep into this beloved holiday classic. My hope is to create a production that is a love letter to the theater, the radio play, and the Wonderful film. I think there is a George Bailey inside of all of us, and I am so excited to work with this amazing group of collaborators to tap into that energy," said director Chip Miller.

Reimagined for the stage as a live radio broadcast, idyllic Bedford Falls is brought to life with an exciting ensemble cast, gorgeous music, lavish costumes, and delightful live sound effects. Small-town everyman George Bailey is having a Christmas Eve that can only be saved by a miracle. Enter George's guardian angel, Clarence, who takes him on a heartwarming journey of redemption proving that "no one is a failure who has friends."

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