It’s a Wonderful Life! – 21 December 2025

Irish Repertory Theatre is a buzz with holiday light in its festive radio play presentation of It’s a Wonderful Life!.  Featuring laughter, song, and joy, this holiday classic follows the story of a man who loses hope after relinquishing the life of his dreams to preserve the legacy of his father’s. Standing on a bridge deciding whether or not to end it, George (Reed Lancaster) is visited by an Angel, Clarence (Asher Muldoon), who shows him what the world would be like without his life in it. George is able to see the value he has added to the world and understand his potential future value—he returns home to see that his friends have swooped in to save him and that there truly is something wonderful about life.

The story is told as a radio play—everybody has scripts in their hands (though they are impressively off book, especially at this performance with two understudies filling in), and they speak into microphones. Foley sound is used. The show is interrupted by advertisements (some of which are musical), including a very tongue in cheek Lucky Strike ad. These techniques keep us grounded in the 1946. The show includes program notes that tell highlight notable changes in civil rights in this particular year. Though It’s a Wonderful Life! isn’t directly about that, it affirms the worth of every human being and the impact we can all make as individuals in the course of the world around us.

It’s a Wonderful Life! is a story that some revisit every Christmas because it meets the holiday blues halfway—it allows people to feel a more moderate kind of holiday joy that contrasts a lot of the over-the-top, excessive Christmas stories that have a saccharine sweetness. This is a story for realists who think about the holidays in a more practical way but don’t become giddy or lightheaded over them. It’s a Wonderful Life! speaks those who like, but don’t love, the holiday season by reminding them of their worth in the lives of their loved ones. Irish Repertory Theatre embodies these ideas in their production by letting the story do most of the speaking—they keep lighting (Michael Gottlieb) utilitarian, sound (Florian Staab) practical, and costuming (David Toser) just enough to have some holiday flair. The focus is on recounting this story and celebrating the unique verve of each character—especially those played by the same performers.

Irish Repertory Theatre gives It’s a Wonderful Life! a wonderful life on stage.  The production is meaningful, and the experience delights.

I attended this performance on a press pass from Print Shop PR.