Get into the holiday season with James W. Rodgers' stage adaptation of Frank Capra's classic movie It's a Wonderful Life at Wayne State University's Bonstelle Theatre, December 5, 6, 12 and 13 at 8 p.m. and December 7 and 14 at 2 p.m., with student matinees December 5 and 11 at 10 a.m.

George Bailey is a good man, with dreams of exploring the world, building skyscrapers and taking his wife to the finest places. He is also a man with responsibilities: to his family, to his business and to his neighbors in Bedford Falls. His dreams never disappear, although his sense of responsibility keeps George at home. But everything he's sacrificed personally and everything he's held together professionally are jeopardized when a large sum of money turns up missing. On the brink of suicide, he wishes he had never been born and is temporarily granted his wish by a guardian angel. The world he sees - a world that has never known George Bailey - is an eye-opening picture of the difference each person makes in the quality of life, how each individual ultimately determines the kind of world in which he or she lives.

It's a Wonderful Life is directed by Lavinia Hart, winner of a Detroit Free Press Lee Hills Award and a Michigan Theatre Artist of the Year Award. In addition to acting in, directing and producing more than 100 plays in Detroit, her WSU directing credits include King Lear at the Hilberry, and Romeo and Juliet and The Miracle Worker at the Bonstelle. The cast of It's a Wonderful Life features Darrell Glasgow (Sterling Heights) as George Bailey, Joe Colosi (Warren) as Clarence Odbody, Angel-Second-Class, and Shannon Ferrante (Southgate) as Mary Bailey. The cast also includes Gregory Harris (Dearborn); Laura Hofmeister (Dearborn Heights); Brian Thibault (Ferndale); Michael Fiedler (Fraser); Kelly Mantei (Flat Rock); Józefa Chmielewski (Harper Woods); Marianne Gagrica (Jenison); Kathryn Galazka (Livonia); Jerry Belanger (Plymouth); Patrick Hanley and Christopher Sims (Redford); Rick Christenhusz and Angela Duffy (Roseville); Alex Hill (Royal Oak); Sarah Garza and William Robb (St. Clair Shores); Alison Christy (Shelby Township); Megan Wright (Walled Lake); and Megan Evanoff, Frank Sawa, Jennifer Marie Shier and Chinhmong Yang (Warren). The design team for It's a Wonderful Life includes Bonstelle Company members Andrew Amis, Lighting Assistant (Farmington Hills), Margo Beregszászy, Stage Manager (Wyandotte), Christopher Kulesa, Sound Design (Detroit), and Lisa Marie Rodriguez, Property Master (Detroit); and Hilberry Company members Corey Globke, Costume Design (West Branch) and Terry Dana Jachimiak II, Scenic Design (Virginia Beach, VA).

The Bonstelle Theatre is located at 3424 Woodward Avenue, at the corner of Eliot. Performances of It's a Wonderful Life are at 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, December 5, 6, 12 and 13; at 2 p.m. Sundays, December 7 and 14; with student matinees at 10 a.m. December 5 and 11. Tickets are $10 regular price, $8 for students and senior citizens. For more information or to purchase tickets to It's a Wonderful Life, call the Wayne State University Theatre Box Office at (313) 577-2960.