The Malibu Stage Company presents an unusual twist to the classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
By Melonie Magruder / Special to The Malibu Times
Malibu Stage Company will celebrate the season with a staged version of Frank Capra’s beloved 1946 holiday classic-“It’s a Wonderful Life”-but with a twist. The beloved characters that were played by Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, the lassoing of the moon, the evil Mr. Potter, Zuzu’s petals and Clarence the Angel will all be transferred to the confines of a single stage and played by one man.
John Farmanesh-Bocca, founder of the Not Man Apart Physical Theatre Ensemble, will be that solitary man to convey the story of George, the banker’s son who wants to travel the world, but instead falls in love and gets wrangled into staying in the small town he grew up in.
Farmanesh-Bocca said of this unusual portrayal of this time-honored Christmas classic: “Because you aren’t seeing the familiar faces of Jimmy Stewart and Lionel Barrymore, you see the piece with fresh eyes. A full cast spells it out and watching it becomes a passive experience. With one man on stage, you start living out the lives of the characters yourself. It’s sort of like when you are a little kid and your parent reads you a story. You become part of it.”
“It’s a Wonderful Life” tells the story of George Bailey, a genial everyman whose dreams of world travel are consistently thwarted by family responsibilities. Nonetheless, he becomes a well-loved community leader through his example of thrift and generosity. When an unseen turn of events throws Bailey into suicidal despair, Clarence, an angel (“second class”) is sent to earth to show Bailey what a different world it would be without him in it.
The American Film Institute has recognized the film as one of the 100 best American films ever made and placed it number one on its list of the most inspirational American films of all time.
In adapting the story, which spans decades, Farmanesh-Bocca framed it as a play within a radio play, using video, sound effects and music to help tell the story. He acknowledged the challenge of fulfilling audience expectations, saying, “Even people who have never seen the movie know this story.”
Nonetheless, Farmanesh-Bocca is counting on audiences relating to the movie’s familiar themes of financial struggle and people “making do” to stay relevant.
“There’s a heightened intimacy and I want the audiences to have a visceral connectivity to this piece,” Farmanesh-Bocca said. “It’s a movie that’s so tied up with people’s childhood memories of Christmas. My piece is an homage to the original.”
Farmanesh-Bocca is big on audience participation. He trained at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and was granted a rare directing fellowship at The Juilliard School before serving as guest faculty at Tisch’s The Classical Studio.
His group won awards at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and they premiered their adaptation, “Pericles Redux,” at Los Angeles’ Kirk Douglas Theatre in 2009.
His brand of theater borrows as much from Cirque de Soleil or Fellini as from Shakespeare, and the physicality of performance is a big part of telling the story. So he’s not afraid of taking on multiple personas in an adaptation of a film story that is so ingrained in the collective cultural consciousness that messing with the formula might antagonize purists.
“My group is known for adapting major classical works like ‘Pericles [Prince of Tyre]’ or ‘Titus Andronicus’ and transforming them into highly visual, experiential theater,” Farmanesh-Bocca said. “But this version of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is not that. It’s a little chestnut of a piece. I know this movie is iconic.”
Diane Peterson, Malibu Stage Company communications director, said the Not Man Apart Ensemble brings a refreshing new presence to their stage.
“Our director, Richard Johnson, saw this piece and loved it,” she said. “Besides being an interesting approach, we thought it would be great to offer a wonderful family show. A lot of people go to see the movies at Christmas. Why not take the family to the theater instead?”
Indeed, Farmanesh-Bocca said he deliberately scheduled a matinee on Christmas Day.
“You know, Stanislavski [the fabled Russian actor] once said that you need to take theater to the marketplace,” Farmanesh-Bocca said. “I checked and Christmas Day is one of the biggest box office days of the year. So, really, what better thing to do after opening presents than to go see this family play with a warm, emotional message?”
“It’s a Wonderful Life – Live!” will play at the Malibu Stage Company Theatre, 29243 Pacific Coast Highway, Dec. 16, 17, 18, 22 and 23 at 8 p.m., Dec. 19 at 5 p.m. and Dec. 25 at 3 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at www.brownpapertickets.com or by calling the box office at 310.589.1998.