«It’s a Wonderful Life» comes to Broadway as a live radio play: Andrew Rannells, Megan Hilty and Tituss Burgess in the cast

Broadway is adding a Christmas classic to its holiday programme: as Playbill reports, the live radio-play version of «It’s a Wonderful Life» will take to the stage of the Broadhurst Theatre this holiday season, with previews beginning on November 4 and the official opening on November 18. The limited engagement will run until January 3, 2027.

The cast is led by Andrew Rannells, Megan Hilty and Tituss Burgess, together with real-life couple Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna. The production is directed by Jerry Zaks and comes to Broadway through Wagner Johnson Productions. Tickets are already on sale.

Joe Landry’s adaptation of Frank Capra’s 1946 film – originally written for the cinema by Broadway playwrights Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, together with Capra – will transport audiences to a 1940s radio studio, where the actors gather to perform the timeless holiday classic, with live sound effects and a live band playing Christmas songs during the commercial breaks.

This adaptation of the film premiered in 1996 at the Stamford Center for the Arts in Connecticut, but the upcoming engagement will be its first Broadway debut.