DECEMBER 8, 2016 // 11
ding
George Bailey, played by Ben Ruderman, right, learns that his youngest daughter Zuzu, played by Aeriel Bird, isn’t feeling well, as
his wife, Mary, played by Emily Dante, and other children look on.
Continued from Pg. 10
Adaptations for radio and theater, in-
cluding a musical version, have followed
in subsequent decades. James W. Rogers’s
version at the Coaster — “a faithful adap-
tation of the 1946 classic fi lm,” reads the
billing — will probably be enjoyed best by
those who’ve loved the fi lm and who will
appreciate the play’s many nods to scenes
necessarily altered or eliminated for theater.
The actors’ challenge, especially for Ben
Ruderman who plays George Bailey, is to
create fresh characters in a play that reminds
its audience of the fi lm whenever it can.
To avoid playing Jimmy Stewart playing
George Bailey, Ruderman tries to explore,
he explains, “an alternate Bedford Falls, an
alternate George Bailey.”
“‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is one of my
favorite fi lms. I watch it probably fi ve times
a year, but I haven’t seen it since I got the
part,” he says. “I don’t want to simply im-
personate Jimmy Stewart.”
If you ask, though, off-stage Ruderman
can do a killer Jimmy Stewart imitation.
Directed by Astoria’s Sheila Shaffer, the
production features a cast of 20 gathered
from the length of our coastal community,
from Long Beach to Tillamook, including
Emily Dante as Mary Hatch-Bailey, Slab
Slabinsky as Angel Second Class Clarence
Odbody, David Sweeney as Uncle Billy and
Donald Conner as Henry Potter.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” opened in No-
vember and will continue to run at 7:30 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, Dec. 9 and 10; 7:30
p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 16 and 17; 3
p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18, then 7:30 p.m. Thurs-
day and Friday, Dec. 22 and 23. . Contact
the Coaster Theatre box offi ce online or at
503-436-1242 for tickets.
Angel Second Class Clarence Odbody, played by Slab Slabins-
ki, left, works to show George Bailey, played by Ben Ruderman,
that he has lived a wonderful life.
Rich businessman Henry Potter, played by Donald Conner, left, would take over Bedford Falls
if it wasn’t for the hard work of George Bailey, played by Ben Ruderman, right, and his Building
and Loan business.