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A Wonderful Life (musical)
''A Wonderful Life'' is a 1986 musical with a book and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and music by Joe Raposo. Based on the classic 1946 Frank Capra film ''It's a Wonderful Life'' starring James Stewart, the story closely follows the original plot, set in 1945, telling the story of a suicidal man whose guardian angel reveals to him how different the world and everyone whose life he has touched would be if he'd never been born. The film was based on the 1943 short booklet by Philip Van Doren Stern, ''The Greatest Gift''. Background and production history Harnick and Raposo worked for many years to put together a musical version of ''It's a Wonderful Life'', but just as the musical's book was completed, a controversy arose over the rights to the underlying Stern story that delayed production of the show. During this delay, Raposo died of cancer in 1989. ''A Wonderful Life'' was performed initially at the University of Michigan in 1986. The first professional production took plac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Raposo
Joseph Guilherme Raposo, OIH (February 8, 1937 – February 5, 1989) was an American composer, songwriter, pianist, singer and lyricist, best known for his work on the children's television series ''Sesame Street'', for which he wrote the theme song, as well as classic songs such as "Bein' Green", "C Is For Cookie" and "Sing" (later a #3 hit for The Carpenters). He also wrote music for television shows such as ''The Electric Company'', '' Shining Time Station'' and the sitcoms ''Three's Company'' and ''The Ropers'', including their theme songs. In addition to these works, Raposo also composed extensively for three Dr. Seuss TV specials in collaboration with the DePatie-Freleng Enterprises: ''Halloween Is Grinch Night'' (1977), '' Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You?'' (1980), and ''The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat'' (1982). Early life and education Raposo was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, the only child of Portuguese immigrant parents Joseph Soares Raposo and Maria (a.k.a. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arena Stage
Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest, Washington, D.C. Established in 1950, it was the first racially integrated theater in Washington, D.C. and its founders helped start the U.S. regional theater movement. It is located at a theater complex called the Mead Center for American Theater. The theater's Artistic Director is Molly Smith and the Executive Producer is Edgar Dobie. It is the largest company in the country dedicated to American plays and playwrights. Arena Stage commissions and develops new plays through its Power Plays initiative. The company now serves an annual audience of more than 300,000. Its productions have received numerous local and national awards, including the Tony Award for best regional theater and over 600 Helen Hayes Awards. History Founding, location, and theaters The theatre company was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1950 by Zelda and Thomas Fichandler and Edward Mangum. Its first home was the Hippodrome Theatre, a for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marian Seldes
Marian Hall Seldes (August 23, 1928 – October 6, 2014) was an American actress. A five-time Tony Award nominee, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for '' A Delicate Balance'' in 1967, and received subsequent nominations for ''Father's Day'' (1971), '' Deathtrap'' (1978–82), ''Ring Round the Moon'' (1999), and '' Dinner at Eight'' (2002). She also won a Drama Desk Award for ''Father's Day''. Her other Broadway credits include '' Equus'' (1974–77), '' Ivanov'' (1997), and ''Deuce'' (2007). She was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1995 and received the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2010. Early life Seldes was born in Manhattan, the daughter of Alice Wadhams Hall, a socialite, and Gilbert Seldes, a journalist, author, and editor. Her uncle was journalist George Seldes. She had one brother, Timothy. Seldes's paternal grandparents were Russian Jewish immigrants, and her mother was from a "prominent WASP family," the "Ep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip Bosco
Philip Michael Bosco (September 26, 1930 – December 3, 2018) was an American actor. He was known for his Tony Award-winning performance as Saunders in the 1989 Broadway production of ''Lend Me a Tenor'', and for his starring role in the 2007 film '' The Savages''. He won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1988. Personal life Bosco was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Margaret Raymond (née Thek), a policewoman, and Philip Lupo Bosco, a carnival worker. His father was of Italian descent and his mother, German. Bosco attended St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City, and later studied drama at Catholic University of America, where he had notable success in the title role of William Shakespeare’s ''Richard III''. Bosco married a fellow Catholic University student, Nancy Ann Dunkle, on January 2, 1957. They had seven children and 15 grandchildren. Bosco and his wife resided in Haworth, New Jersey. Bosco died at his home of complications from dementia on December 3, 2018 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karen Ziemba
Karen Ziemba (born November 12, 1957) is an American actress, singer and dancer, best known for her work in musical theatre. In 2000, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in ''Contact (musical), Contact''. Biography Ziemba was born in St. Joseph, Michigan, the daughter of Barbara Marie (Heidt) and Oscar Hugo Ziemba, an investment broker. Her grandmother, Winifred Heidt, was an opera singer. Ziemba attended the University of Akron (Ohio), where she studied dance. In 1977 she danced with the Ohio Ballet."Karen Ziemba" tcm.com, accessed October 23, 2013 Her Broadway debut was in ''A Chorus Line'' as Diana Morales. Later, she played the lead of Peggy Sawyer in ''42nd Street (musical), 42nd Street''. While appearing in ''42nd Street'', she was featured in the October 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dominic Chianese
Dominic Chianese (; born February 24, 1931) is an American actor, singer, and musician. He is best known for his roles as Corrado "Junior" Soprano on the HBO series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), Johnny Ola in ''The Godfather Part II'' (1974), and Leander in ''Boardwalk Empire'' (2011–2013). Early life Chianese was born in the Bronx, New York. His father was a bricklayer. His paternal grandfather immigrated to the United States from Naples in 1904 and settled in the Bronx. Chianese graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1948. Career After a decade of attending college and appearing in off-Broadway theatre, Chianese attended his first professional acting class at HB Studio in Manhattan, with renowned teacher Walt Witcover. Drama and musical theater became Chianese's passion. His first Broadway show was ''Oliver!'' in 1965. He has continued to perform in Broadway theatre, Off Broadway, and regional theatre. To supplement income in the dry periods, he played ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Hatch Bailey
Mary Hatch Bailey is a fictional character in Frank Capra's 1946 film ''It's a Wonderful Life''. She is the sweetheart and later wife of protagonist George Bailey (played by James Stewart as an adult and Bobby Anderson as a child). Mary is played by Donna Reed as an adult and Jean Gale as a child. She is loosely based on Mary Pratt, a character in Philip Van Doren Stern's 1943 short story ''The Greatest Gift''. Mary Hatch is viewed by some as either the hero of the film or a key, significant, and strong character in the film's story, including its romance. Story line Mary Hatch is the younger sister of Marty Hatch, a friend of George, whom she has loved since childhood. They become reacquainted as young adults at a high school dance in 1928, where they discuss their respective plans for the future. They are interrupted by news that George's father has suffered a stroke. Mary goes away to college, and works for a time in New York before returning to Bedford Falls. In 1932, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judy Kuhn
Judy Kuhn (born May 20, 1958) is an American actress and singer, known for her work in musical theatre. A four-time Tony Award nominee, she has released four studio albums and sang the title role in the 1995 film ''Pocahontas'', including her rendition of the song "Colors of the Wind", which won its composers the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Kuhn made her professional stage debut in 1981 and her Broadway debut in the 1985 original production of the musical ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood''. Subsequent Broadway roles include Cosette in ''Les Misérables'' (1987), Florence Vassy in ''Chess'' (1988), and Amalia Balash in ''She Loves Me'' (1993). For all three, she received Tony Award nominations. She also received an Olivier Award nomination for her 1989 West End debut playing Maria/Futura in ''Metropolis''. Other musical roles include Betty Schaeffer in the 1993 US premiere production of ''Sunset Boulevard'' in Los Angeles and her Obie Award winning role as Emmie in the 2001 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clarence Odbody
Clarence Odbody, also spelled Clarence Oddbody, (born May 1653) is a guardian angel character in Frank Capra's 1946 film ''It's a Wonderful Life'', where he was portrayed by Henry Travers, and in the 1990 sequel, ''Clarence'', where he was played by Robert Carradine. Odbody is loosely based on "a stranger" in Philip Van Doren Stern's 1943 short story ''The Greatest Gift''. In 1977's ''It Happened One Christmas'', a remake of the 1946 film, a gender-reversed Clarence appeared as Clara Oddbody, played by Cloris Leachman. The 1986 musical '' A Wonderful Life'' features Odbody, who was played by David Hyde Pierce in its 2005 rendition. In the 1946 film Odbody is the implied subject when, in the well-known quote, Zuzu Bailey (played by Karolyn Grimes) says "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings." Biography In ''It's a Wonderful Life'' On Christmas Eve, 1945, George Bailey, a banker in the town of Bedford Falls facing financial ruin and disgrace, is contemplating comm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Hyde Pierce
David Hyde Pierce (born April 3, 1959) is an American actor and director of stage, film and television. He starred as psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Frasier'' from 1993 to 2004, and won four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award for the role. Pierce also received the 2007 Tony Award for playing Lieutenant Frank Cioffi in the musical ''Curtains''. He is also widely known for playing Frank Prady in eight episodes of the television legal drama ''The Good Wife'', and Henry Newman in the comedy film ''Wet Hot American Summer'' and its subsequent television spin-offs. Pierce has played supporting roles in many films, including Joan Micklin Silver's ''Crossing Delancey'' (1988), Terry Gilliam's ''The Fisher King'' (1991), Nora Ephron's ''Sleepless in Seattle'' (1993), Mike Nichols' ''Wolf'' (1994), and Oliver Stone's ''Nixon'' (1995). He has also starred in the cult romantic comedy ''Down with Love'' (2003), and the dark comedy film ''The Perfect Host ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Bailey (It's A Wonderful Life)
George Bailey is a fictional character and the protagonist in Frank Capra's 1946 film ''It's a Wonderful Life''. The character is a building and loan banker who sacrifices his dreams in order to help his community of Bedford Falls to the point where he feels life has passed him by. Eventually, due to difficulties in keeping the building and loan solvent, Bailey falls into despair so deep that he contemplates suicide, until his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody, gives him a valuable perspective on the worth of his life. George finds through Odbody's angelic power and gift what life would be like if he didn't have his wife, Mary, his children and friends, and what their lives and the social structure of Bedford Falls would be like without him. Bailey is played by James Stewart as an adult and Bobby Anderson as a child, and is loosely based on George Pratt, a character in Philip Van Doren Stern's 1943 booklet ''The Greatest Gift''. The character was portrayed by Pete Davidson ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Brian Stokes Mitchell (born October 31, 1957) is an American actor and singer. A powerful baritone, he has been one of the central leading men of the Broadway theater since the 1990s. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2000 for his performance in ''Kiss Me, Kate''. Early life Mitchell was born in Seattle, Washington, the youngest of four children of George Mitchell, an electronics engineer, and his wife Lillian (née Stokes), a school administrator. Mitchell grew up at various U.S. military bases overseas, where his father was a civilian engineer for the U.S. Navy. As a young boy, he lived in San Diego, California, where he began acting in school musicals. He did not attend college, having begun performing professionally while a student at Patrick Henry High School, although he did have private teachers in both acting and voice in his teen years. He has said that he studied film scoring, orchestration, and conducting through UCLA. Prior to ''Ragtime'', he was kn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
