The world premiere of ÔøΩThis Wonderful Life ^[1]ÔøΩ, the one-man stage adaptation of ÔøΩItÔøΩs a Wonderful Life ^[2]ÔøΩ has come and gone through Portland. I hope it was a huge success for everyone involved. I caught one of the matinees and it was a great show even though there were only about 50 people in the audience.

I really enjoyed this production. (It was a lot like watching a live episode of MST3K ^[3]. I mean that as a huge compliment.) IÔøΩm not a big fan of the original ÔøΩItÔøΩs a Wonderful LifeÔøΩ movie, so I was a little skeptical about seeing the one-man stage version. However, the show isnÔøΩt a direct adaptation of the movie. ItÔøΩs more like a commentary about the heart and soul of the movie acted out with great vigor by one actor! Luckily, I have seen the original movie enough to laugh along with the rest of the crowd at most of the jokes. I laughed a lot. Even the smaller kids I saw at the show stayed rapt.

The only thing about the show I didnÔøΩt like was the space it was performed in. PCS ^[4] is just too big of an auditorium for such an intimate show. Even the set, which was really amazing, was all bunched up in the center of the stage. I think the show would have been even more enjoyable if it had been in a smaller space. I was sitting third row center and I still felt far away.

I have the feeling Mark could have opened this show in any town he wanted. He chose Portland. Which is pretty cool considering this is probably going to end up being one of those shows that is performed year after year all over the country at Christmas time. Well it all started here.

So, I would like to thank Mark Setlock and everyone involved for bringing the show here and adding to the history of theater in Portland. I hope we can all see you again next Christmas time.

Did anyone else see it?