IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE @ VCCT FOR SDTHEATREREVIEWS.COM

Words by Kristen Fogle

This delightful holiday romp through George Bailey’s successes and failures should be experienced on film or at the theater at least every few Christmases. To aide in providing the theatrical version to San Diego County audiences is Valley Center Community Theatre’s version of “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

The pristine Maxine Theatre, which is part of Valley Center High School, is where the production takes place. A Sunday matinee performance sees a fairly full house, which could be due to the many cast members in the show. My other suspicion is that Valley Center (VC), being so cut off from the rest of North and East County, has quite the community, which insulated towns like VC generally provide. (If one is not part of this community, it is almost exactly one hour from San Diego to beautifully scenic VC.)

As said prior, the action of the play surrounds George Bailey, who dreams of escaping his small town and adventuring about the world; this never comes to fruition, however, in the name of family obligation. But the crux of the show involves a financial disaster that drastically affects George on Christmas Eve. This causes him to wish he had never been born and for his angel Clarence (Angel 2nd Class) to show George what an asset to the world he really is. Based on the 1946 film by Frank Capra, “It’s A Wonderful Life” celebrates the season and the American spirit in a timeless, heartwarming story.

Fred Gaines Jr. is fairly one note as George, though he has a nice intensity about him, (cultivated perhaps from his daytime TV drama stints, noted in his bio). This force is ideal in places where George is flailing, but it would be nice to see other dimensions to the character. Standouts are really the women of the cast. M. Susan Peck’s Mother Bailey is brief but delightful—the portrait of a good natured matriarch. Violet Peterson (Sydnee Davis) has an adorable vivaciousness; she is fun to watch. Katie Burlington’s Mary Hatch is very natural, likable. And little Zuzu Bailey (Katelynn Tullis) nails the show’s signature line! (“Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings!”)

Though I enjoyed my romp through this feel good classic, besides that this show is held in a high school, there are some features that make it feel a bit like a school performance. There were some unpredictable lighting and prop changes and some awkward blocking at moments. Additionally, there was a tendency for all cast members to gesture a lot (perhaps this is an overcompensation due to the large stage), but some minimal movements could have made the performance a bit smarter. One more week of “It’s a Wonderful Life” means you do not have many chances left to see the classic story. For more information, please visit http://www.vcct.org/.

To see the original article, please visit http://sdtheatrereviews.com/arts.php?newsId=255