It's A Wonderful Life with Hilty, Rannells, Burgess, coming to the Broadhurst — Page 2

inception said: "If you are of a certain age Harry Hamlin might mean a great deal to you. Enough that we'll put up with his wife...

Clash of the Titans, Making Love"

And this is exactly what will get me in to see this.

EDSOSLO858 said: "I know this will be categorized as a play revival (this adaptation is widely produced regionally), but the Tonysshould really consider bringing back the unique theatrical event category."

This is a play though.

I think the Special Theatrical Event conceit only works for something that is very clearly not a play or a musical. The David Byrne shows come to mind — and even those feel more like musicals than not.

Things like Oh Hello and All Out/In are structured as plays.

According to the website, Hilty plays Mary Bailey, Burgess is Clarence, Ronna is Violet and others, Rannells is George.

I saw this is community theater 4 years ago, a family member in the cast. It's ... fine. Its best feature is its relative economy of storytelling. Speed and brevity, overly cute wink-wink commercials aside. Don't expect all of the iconic scenes in the film's moving, nuanced (and arguably least sentimental) second act; they aren't there. But this would be an event with brilliant young actors who might re-mint George Bailey and Mary's journey. If anyone believes Rannells and Hilty, triple-threats in musicals to be sure, fill that bill, fork over your $378 for center orchestra. I will not be among 'em. If you're curious and in TDF, I predict plenty of midweek and Sunday night at 6:30 sales.

Who else here is old enough to remember The 1940s Radio Hour at the St. James? Sweet-spirited, brilliantly cast, and only briefly on the boards.

Updated On: 10/1/26 at 05:12 PM

And with Broadway money, I think they'll make this really good and extremely entertaining. And at $231 for the last row of the orchestra? Holiday pricing at it's very, very finest. F*ck.

Calling it a radio play is just a get-out for having no sets or staging, I take it? Yet still charge Broadway prices?

There ARE sets and costumes. It takes place in 1946 and a group of radio voice actors are doing a radio play version of IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE so we’re the studio audience at the broadcast on a Christmas Eve.

This cast won’t be standing behind stands and microphones reading the script. Its a fully rounded play.

Wonder if the musical version that Paul McCartney was writing the music for will ever happen. Seems it fell apart around COVID and then death of Bill Kenwright in 2023. Supposedly McCartney had already written 20 songs for the show.

Observation said: "One thing I did notice, if you’re going to see Hilty, pay attention to which date because she has quite a few prescheduled absences. I was interested in seeing this but shes out the day I could see her :("

* Megan Hilty will not perform at the following performances:
Fri, Nov 6 - 7:30pm, Thu, Dec 3 - 7:00pm, Fri, Dec 4 - 7:00pm, Sat, Dec 5 - 1:00pm, Sat, Dec 5 - 7:00pm, Sun, Dec 6 - 1:00pm, Sun, Dec 6 - 6:30pm, Fri, Dec 18 - 7:00pm, Sat, Dec 19 - 1:00pm, Sat, Dec 19 - 7:00pm, Sun, Dec 20 - 1:00pm, Sun, Dec 20 - 6:30pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "CAST:

Tituss Burgess - Clarence & Others

Harry Hamlin - Mr. Potter & Others

Megan Hilty - Mary Bailey

Andrew Rannells - George Bailey

Lisa Rinna - Violet & Others



Each actor has a name. For example, Megan Hilty is playing an actress named Sally Applewhite, who is then playing Mary Bailey and others on the radio show.