- Type
- Location Santa Ynez, California, United States
- Date 01-12-2022
The Santa Ynez High School Theatre Group will offer a staged adaptation of the holiday classic It's a Wonderful Life as its fall play production. Directed by Theatre Arts teacher Jeff McKinnon, it has a cast and crew of 30 students. Lights are designed by David Johnson, costumes by Tatiana Johnson and original incidental music composed by local Grammy-award-winning composer, Carl Johnson.
A perennial holiday film favorite, Frank Capra's film already had an extended lineage prior to its arrival in post WWII cinemas in 1946. The screenplay by Capra, Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett had been adapted from a little-read short story by Philip Van Doren Stern titled, "It's a Gift," self-published by Stern in 1943. But this story of a depressed and suicidal everyman, who is given the chance to see how his world would be affected had he never been born, has its roots as far back as the 15th century Mystery Play titled, appropriately, Everyman. 400 years later Charles Dickens spun it into another holiday classic concerning the impact every individual has on their world, none other than A Christmas Carol. Each of these stories offers what we hope exists for all of us, a chance at redemption and appreciation of the gift of life.
Interestingly, the film did not do well in its initial release, but picked up steam 20 years later on college campuses and through repeated appearances on late-night television. Now it is required viewing for many of us whenever the holidays roll around. It seems to speak to our sense of nostalgia that something fundamental has been lost in our modern world. Capra's Norman Rockwell-esque Bedford Falls, New York is the mythological Everytown, America many of us wish we lived in, a community where good, hard-working people support one another through daily and seemingly insignificant acts of friendship, loyalty, and humility.
It's a Wonderful Life will be performed Thursdays through Saturdays, December 1st through 3rd and 8th through 10th at 7:00 P.M. in the comfortable and intimate SYVUHS Little Theatre. General Admission tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Advance tickets are available at: https://gofan.co/app/school/CA23119?activity=Performing%20Arts;
Day-of-show tickets will also be available at the door 30 minutes prior to performance. This production is suitable for all ages. For more information call 688-6487 x2361.
Category: Kids / Family | Theatre