Description

Ophelia’s Jump Productions, the non-profit professional theatre company based in Claremont and Upland, announces its show for the holiday season: It’s a Wonderful Life (the big tent podcast) 2021. The family-friendly, Covid-safe entertainment will be performed outdoors under a big tent in the parking lot of St. Ambrose Church in Claremont.

    As the title implies, the new show is an adaptation of the classic 1946 Christmas movie that starred James Stewart and Donna Reed. The live stage performance is simultaneously done as a live podcast with original music, multimedia, live Foley (sound) effects and some audience participation.

    For those few of you not familiar with the original film, the plot, simply stated, goes like this: George Bailey, the benevolent head of a savings-and-loan in a small town, finds himself in serious trouble and wishes he had never been born. Clarence, an angel-in-training, shows him how much worse off the world would be without the existence of George Bailey. George’s wife and his neighbors rally around George to come to his aid and provide a Christmas-worthy outcome.

    In our 2021 version, the setting is transferred from a town in New York State to a small town in California’s Inland Empire. More references plant the action firmly in today’s Southern California.

    Beatrice Casagran has written the script adaptation and directs.  She is the Founding Artistic Director of Ophelia’s Jump Productions, where she has worked as a director, designer, actor and educator. Her recent directing credits include Wit, Hamlet, In the Next Room, Quilters, Tribes, The Electric Baby, many more. She received her M.A. in Theatre from Cal State San Bernardino.

    Her cast for It’s a Wonderful Life (the big tent podcast) 2021 includes (in alphabetical order) Janette Combs, Ryan Herrera, Judd Johnson, Caitlin Lopez, Randy Lopez, Kyle Sammy, Michelle Schaefer, Nigel Tutt and Janette Valenzo.

    Stage manager: Miranda Tejeda.

    We’ll have blankets and holiday cheer to keep you warm. All performances will have projected captions for Deaf and hard of hearing audience members.

    In the spirit of the holidays, a portion of the proceeds of this event will be donated in support of the work of St. Ambrose Church ministries.

    This is the ideal holiday entertainment for the entire family. Join us!

    It’s a Wonderful Life (the big tent podcast) 2021. Adapted by Beatrice Casagran from the screenplay by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra and Jo Swerling. Directed by Beatrice Casagran. Presented by Ophelia’s Jump Productions. Admission: $30 adults; $25 seniors (65+); $20 children (age 3-11). Reservations and information: http://opheliasjump.org or call 909-734-6565.