We weren't quite as awed by "It's a Wonderful Life" as some of the rest of you. The production did have it's good qualities; the singing and dancing was good, and the technical aspects were pretty cool. But we felt it was too much spectacle, the development of relationships between characters being sacrificed for big production numbers. It wasn't the fault of the actors, there simply wasn't enough "story" to move those relationships along. Rather than music moving the story along, it seemed that dialog and story were merely there to tie one production number to the next. Consequently, we were not able to make that emotional connection that every show should try to make with the audience. On the other hand, the "Dickens' Christmas Carol" show has a nice balance between the music and the story. We're glad we saw the show, and we may see it again next year to see if any issues are corrected by a re-write, but it will not become that "must see every year" show for us.
