A Holiday Classic Reborn: It’s a Wonderful Life, The Radio Play, Shines on RHS Stage

Redwood High School’s Theater is presenting “It’s A Wonderful Life The Radio Play” On November 20, 21, 22, 2025, starting at 7 pm sharp, and the short “Little Orphan Annie” episode beginning at 6:45.

By: Jose Oyervidez and Edward Gonzales

The play tells the story of George Bailey (played by Connor West, ’27), who sacrifices his dreams and aspirations to help his town, family, and friends

Through flashbacks we see how George after his father’s passing, he takes on the family business and now has misplaced a crucial envelope of money to keep the business running causing George to contemplate taking his own life but luckily is saved by his guardian angel Clarence (played by Liam Bradford, ’26) who intervenes and after George says he wished he’d never been born, shows George what the world would look like without him.

The realization of how George’s existence really makes him appreciate his life more, and after returning to town, everyone has rallied and has more than enough money to keep the Bailey Brothers Building and Loan in business.

Shortly after this, he finds a letter from Clarence thanking George for his wings, and almost perfectly on time, the bells on the Christmas tree ring, representing Clarence receiving his wings.

Overall, it’s a really heartwarming story with great acting from everyone who really made the characters feel real through their emotion, and showed that they truly understand their character by embodying them so well.

The stage set is very detailed, and you can see the passion everyone working on it put into the play’s stage design.

To add to the detail of the play, the actors’ outfits are amazing, perfectly fitting each character and the scene and context of the play.

Another wonderful aspect of the play is how the actors interact with the audience, which really immerses you into the story.

An amazing aspect of the radio play was that all the sound effects, like the crowds ambience, phones ringing, magazine pages flipping, and briefcases being placed on tables, were all made by the cast in the background, which really enhances the play.

When the cast goes from the short to the main play, they have a short intermission that plays music (Christmas themed), and they have one cast member clean and fix the set and stage for the full cast to use while also keeping the flow of the play steady.

From that you can see how the cast make the non-existent characters feel more real and breathe life into them by the way they dress, their expressions, and the way they move. 

Watching the play during the dress rehearsal makes the small bloopers that occur show that the cast has a great time doing what they do, and that they play isn’t the only thing that is fun about the drama class.

All in all, the cast did an amazing job, like they do with every play, but after watching this play for the first time, it really made me feel lots of emotions and made me feel part of the story.

It is a truly spectacular play, and if you would like to show your support for the Redwood Theater and all its amazing students who act in it, you can purchase online tickets here.

Tags: It's a Wonderful Life, LJ Williams Theater, radio play, rangers, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood rangers, rhs, rhs musical theatre, theater, visalia ca