A Wonderful Life November 11, 2006

Porchlight Music Theatre, Chicago’s inventive musical theatre company, opens its 2006–2007 season themed around ‘The American Experience—Set to Music’, with A Wonderful Life. Offering a new spin on the holiday film, A Wonderful Life is a musical version of the Frank Capra film classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The production previews November 11 and runs through December 31 at Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 W. Belmont. The press opening is November 19 at 2:30pm.

Celebrating 60 years as America’s favorite holiday tradition, It’s a Wonderful Life tops the American Film Institute’s list of most inspiring films of all time. The Porchlight Music Theatre version is told in a fresh new way as a musical. A Wonderful Life is the remarkable collaboration of Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winner Sheldon Harnick and Grammy and Emmy Award-winner Joe Raposo.

Set in the small town of Bedford Falls in the 1940s, A Wonderful Life is the story of George Bailey, who has a heart of gold but has long felt like a failure. When George wonders what life would be like if he had never been born, an angel shows him how different the world would be if he didn’t exist. A Wonderful Life is a timeless story, perfect for the whole family.

“We honor the film with this fresh new musical version,” comments director L. Walter Stearns. ”We cannot improve on the classic, but our live musical experience tells the story in a unique way.”

A Wonderful Life features performances by David Heimann as George Bailey, Jess Godwin (from Porchlight’s Gypsy) as Mary Hatch and Jeff Award-winning actor, Peter Pohlhammer (Porchlight’s Sweeney Todd) as the villainous Mr. Potter.

Porchlight Music Theatre Artistic Director L. Walter Stearns directs this production. Rounding out the creative team are Eugene Dizon (Jeff Award-winning music director), Matthew Raftery (choreographer), Kurt Sharp (scenic design) Jullian H Pike (lighting design) and Theresa Ham (costume design).

Peter Pohlhammer returns to Porchlight Music Theatre where he was awarded the 2005 Jeff Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a musical for Sweeney Todd. Peter has recently appeared at the Drury Lane Theatre in Grand Hotel.

Ticket Information

Porchlight Music Theatre will present A Wonderful Life at the Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 West Belmont (at Racine), from November 11 through December 31. The performance schedule is: Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. There will be special Thursday performances at 8 p.m. on December 21 and 28 and two additional Wednesday matinees at 2 p.m. on December 6 and 13. There is no performance on December 24. Tickets, which range in price from $25 to $32, are currently on sale, and can be purchased in person at The Theatre Building Chicago box office (773-327-5252) or any Ticketmaster Ticket Center (312-902-1500), and online at www.ticketmaster.com. Discounted tickets are available for students, seniors and groups. For group tickets, call 312-423-6612.

About Porchlight Music Theatre

Porchlight Music Theatre, originally founded in 1995 as Porchlight Theatre, has made a name for itself by producing engaging musicals with a focus on new works and inventive adaptations. A professional, not-for-profit organization, the company has staged 28 shows including four World Premieres and seven Chicago Premieres. The rapidly growing mid-sized theatre company has received 5 Jeff Awards as well as 13 Jeff Award nominations, 29 Joseph Jefferson Citation nominations, 11 Jeff Citations, and 20 After Dark Awards.

The Porchlight Music Theatre season continues with Stephen Sondheim’s incendiary musical, Assassins and a world-premiere vaudeville, The Teapot Scandals. ‘The American Experience—Set to Music Season’ concludes with a jewel box production of the epic musical Ragtime.

Porchlight Music Theatre is partially supported by generous contributions from: Alaron, William Blair & Company Foundation, City Arts Program 2 Grant/Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, Holland & Company CPA, the Illinois Arts Council – a state agency, the MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, and Peoples Energy.

Official Website: http://www.porchlighttheatre.com