Rexburg Community Theatre to perform the beloved classic next week

By Kaylee Paiva

REXBURG, Idaho — “It’s A Wonderful Life” is a family-favorite classic film that usually makes a reappearance every Christmas season. Many adaptations of this tale have come about since its release in 1946, but all tend to focus on the same question: “What would life be like if one person never existed?” The film tells the story of a Mr. George Bailey and shows just how much one individual can change the lives of so many for the better.

This month, Rexburg Community Theatre is bringing this heart-warming story to stage and welcomes all to enjoy the performance. Makayla Daybell is the director of the production and is excited to share it with the community.

“It’s a great Christmas story with a great twist as a radio-style show,” she commented. “It’s a heart-warming show and story…[that] I hope can show great emotions of love and caring, and can help the audience feel like they are part of the show.”

When asked about casting the show, Daybell said that it wasn’t difficult.

“The people that auditioned blew me away,” she said. “They just shone out and I knew right away which actor could play which character.”

The show will be performed live and in-person by only five talented actors playing a total of forty-two different characters.

“My favorite part of the show is watching the actors bring each character to life,” Daybell said. “There are some scenes where one actor is playing three different people at once in a split instance. It’s really fun to see the changes in voice and body language.”

She went on to say that she hopes the audience will be able to feel what the main characters, George Bailey and his wife, Mary, are feeling.

In addition to the five actors, the show will feature a live foley artist.

“She will have her own booth where she will be creating most of the sound effects for the show with different objects,” Daybell explained. The audience will be able to watch all of it from their seats.

The show will debut on Thursday, December 15 at 7 p.m. at Madison Jr. High School (134 Madison Avenue, Rexburg). There are additional performances on December 16, 17, and 19, all set at 7 p.m. and lasting approximately an hour and a half. Tickets are on sale online at rctheatre.org/tickets and will also be available at the door.

Adult tickets for ages 16 and up are listed at $8 each, whereas youth tickets for ages 3-15 are only $6 each. Additional fees may be charged depending on payment method. RCT wishes to remind audience members to please wait for their entire party to arrive before being seated, as only one event receipt for the tickets is given per party. More information can be found at rctheatre.org.