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Dec. 14, 2007
It's a worthwhile show
Directorial issues don't detract from holiday treat.
BAILA LAZARUS
Taking such an iconoclastic film as It's a Wonderful Life and transforming it into a stage production has got to take some nerves of steel. And Philip Grecian knows it.
"People who loved the original piece expect certain things in the adaptation," said the playwright about his task of transposing Frank Capra's touching original onto the Arts Club stage. "And each person tends to expect a different 'certain thing.' People expect to see on stage what they've seen in a film."
Those are some big canisters to fill. After all, the original film, made in 1946, was nominated for five Academy Awards, including best picture, best actor and best director, and won a Golden Globe for best director. It consistently places on "best movies" lists, and not in a small part due to the acting and chemistry of James Stewart as George Bailey, Donna Reed as Mary and Henry Travers as Clarence.
That's why I was surprised to see the stage play not only try to imitate the film, but actually use clips of the movie throughout the show – something I see as a directorial mistake. What the Arts Club production has done is take some fine actors and have them copy the people in the movie. So Todd Talbot seems like he's not so much playing George as he is playing Stewart playing George. Emphasizing this point are scenes from the film, which are played for a few seconds at various points in the play and then either held in a freeze-frame or allowed to dissolve away. Many of those images are simply the exterior of buildings, being used to set the scene, but others are clips of Stewart doing something, while Talbot is doing the same thing on stage.
It's a weird way to go about transitioning from the film to the play. It not only detracts from the play, but keeps serving as a reminder of what the play is trying to live up to, but can't. And it raises the question, why not just stay at home and rent the movie?
Instead, the Arts Club production should have stood on its own. Rather than bring any hints of the movie to the audience, let them see a play that uses a script based on a film, but otherwise, is original.
A good example of this is the scene where George and Mary are about to kiss for the first time. They're at Mary's home, talking to Sam Wainwright, who wants George to invest in plastics. In the original movie, there's a close-up, so the viewer can see the subtleties of emotion show on their faces as their moods change from anger to confusion to love. It's a great example of Stewart's and Reed's on-screen chemistry.
On stage, there are no close-ups, so the actors better be doing something besides what the movie calls for in order to create that chemistry. Unfortunately, that "something" doesn't show up. The scene plays itself out exactly as it does in the movie, but when they finally kiss, the chemistry just isn't there.
Thankfully, not all is lost due to this strange choice of direction. The brightest light in both the film and the play serves to keep viewers amused and hopeful – and that's Clarence, the angel trying to earn his wings, played on stage by veteran actor Bernard Cuffling. The character is so lovable and well-written that on screen or in person, he always gets people to cheer for him.
One thing the staged version offered, which an in-home viewing of the film lacks, is an audience of several hundred applauding for the pajama-wearing angel when he finally gets his wings. (Oops! Hope I didn't give anything away.)
Ultimately, it is the script of It's a Wonderful Life that makes the story so timeless and moving. When it draws to a close, with all of George's friends coming to help him out in return for all he's done for them, you'd have to be made of stone not to be touched. And that message reaches everyone, whether expressed on celluloid or on floorboards.
It's a Wonderful Life is directed by Dean Paul Gibson and runs at the Arts Club Theatre on Granville Island until Dec. 29. For tickets, call the box office at 604-687-1644.
Baila Lazarus is a freelance writer, photographer and illustrator living in Vancouver. Her work can be seen at www.orchiddesigns.net.
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