‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ radio play in Sonoma Nov. 29 and 30

“Every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.”

To paraphrase that famous line, it could be said that every time someone performs “It’s a Wonderful Life,” it rings a certain nostalgic bell for whole generations of grateful folks. And that includes anyone who grew up watching Frank Capra’s indelible story of Bedford Falls, George Bailey and Clarence, the daffy-but-wingless guardian angel.

Last holiday season, Sonoma Arts Live threw a benefit party wrapped around a cleverly composed radio-show adaptation of the movie. While no magically-sprouting wings were reported, the event proved so successful it seemed preordained that “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” would wing its way back again in 2016.

And according to Jaime Love, the nonprofit’s Managing Artistic Director, the show will be reprised for two days, on Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 29 and 30 – with a bit of extra razzle-dazzle added to the tuneful pre-show and post-show festivities.

Part of last year’s success, Love says, is the enduring appeal of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” as the 1946 movie version has become a holiday staple, anchored by rich performances from James Stewart and Donna Reed.

A balance of light and dark, it told the story of George Bailey, a dreamer pushed to his limits, offered a Christmas Eve chance to see what his life would have been like had he never been born.

In Joe Landry’s clever stage adaptation, a troupe of 1940s radio actors gather on Christmas Eve to act out a live broadcast of the story, complete with a “Foley artist” creating all the sound effects on household implements, and with authentic commercial breaks performed by the cast as in the Golden Age of radio.

“The show is such a heartwarming way to start the holiday,” says Love, who is directing show. “We’re excited to bring back the same great cast from last year.”

That cast includes Cindy Brillhart-True and Anthony Martinez as George and Mary Bailey, with multiple performances in numerous roles by Jim Levy, Rick Love, Sue Martin, Patricia Shults and Rick Wynne. New to the cast this year is Michael Grais, best known as a screenwriter and motion picture producer.

His films include the 1982 horror classic “Poltergeist,” which he co-wrote with Stephen Spielberg, and the 1992 animated Ralph Bakshi sex-comedy “Cool World.” He also served as producer on 1989’s Jerry Lee Lewis biopic “Great Balls of Fire!” and Steven Seagal’s 1990 voodoo-and-drugs action movie “Marked for Death,” which he also co-wrote.

Love says she hopes the added Hollywood “star power” of Grais as a member of the troupe will bring a bit of extra attention to the event, which marks one of Sonoma Arts Live’s most significant annual fundraisers.

“This presentation,” says Love, “will serve as a benefit for our 2017 season, with proceeds going to enhance the production values of all of the shows that will be presented next year.”

The titles of those upcoming plays and musicals, Love adds, will be announced for the first time to the audience at both nights of the benefit, with the grand pronouncement scheduled for the show’s intermission. The show will be presented in “cabaret format,” with premium ticket audiences seated at tables, or in the risers, as preferred. The preshow entertainment includes songs from the 1940s performed by the Defying Gravity Gals, with a few surprises.

Specially-themed cocktails will be available, along with festival assortment of snacks and wines.

For those wishing to catch “It’s a Wonderful Life” alone, lower-priced show-only tickets will be available.

Ironically, when “It’s a Wonderful Life” was first released, just months after the end of World Ware II, it was viewed as too innocent and wholesome a tale for a country that had just experienced so many years of hardship. Though nominated for six Oscars, it won only one – for its amazing falling snow special effects – and ended up losing money for RKO, the studio that produced it. The movie endured, however, becoming a television favorite.

In recent years, with the debut of Landry’s radio-show adaptation in 1997, the story has found a new life on stage, becoming one of the most frequently produced holiday plays in America.

Evidently, the combination of George Bailey’s magical journey and the old-fashioned pleasures of listening to a story well-told, is one Christmas mash-up that will be ringing our bells for years to come.