With some pivotal changes, musical will be like movie

The Charleston will still be a big number, but there won't be a pool to fall into.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Many people associate the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" with the holiday season and look forward to it each year. The Youngstown Playhouse will soon present a musical version of this popular story.
"There are actually several plays written based on this movie," said director J. E. Ballantyne Jr. "We are doing 'A Wonderful Life,' a musical written in the early '80s, based on the book by Sheldon Harnick, who also wrote the lyrics. This is an area premiere for this work. The version of this story called 'It's a Wonderful Life,' is a little better known, but the one we are doing follows the movie more closely."
So closely, in fact, that Ballantyne said it really isn't too condensed, and nearly all the same scenes from the movie are present. "There really isn't a break from scene to scene, and it flows like the movie," said Ballantyne. "The style of music is typical of the '50s and '60s musical, some elements of 'Fiddler on the Roof' or 'Mame.' There are choruses, solos, ballads, and some dancing. The biggest dance number is the Charleston, when George and Mary meet -- the place in the movie where they fall into the pool. Of course, they won't fall into a pool onstage."
A couple of tweaks
There are a few other differences between the movie and stage musical. "In the musical, George's hearing problem comes from him pushing his brother out of the way of a truck to save his life, and they allude that he fractured his skull, rather than George jumping into the water to save him, as in the movie," said Ballantyne. "Another difference is that the musical begins where George realizes he has lost the money, and goes from there as his flashback."
In the movie version, the story is told as a flashback from the angel Clarence's point of view. Ballantyne said that the bar scene where George and Clarence go, after Clarence saves George's life, is also different than the movie.
Ballantyne said that though the music will not be familiar to most audience members, they will probably enjoy the new tunes. "I listened to selections on a CD before we started rehearsals and I was very impressed," he said.
Ballantyne also gives high praise to Paul and Kadey Kimpel for their technical work. "There are a lot of different backdrops and sets that get pulled from the sides of the stage," said Ballantyne. "There is one for the old house, with milk crates as furniture, and another for the remodeled house, with new walls and furniture. The park scene where George and Mary go after the dance, where they fall in love, is particularly nice."
As for the costumes, Ballantyne said Kadey Kimpel has done wonders with remodeling donated costumes to look period. "The musical is set in the era of the '30s to about World War II," Ballantyne said. "Kadey borrowed some costumes and also made some new ones. The cast members have raved about them."
This large production will include about 35 to 40 people -- including many children for the chorus, plus the three Bailey kids. The main characters include Jason Green as George Bailey, Karen Halley as his wife, Mary, and Brian Lee as the angel, Clarence.