George Bailey, Clarence Odbody and the town of Bedford Falls are coming to Prescott. Yavapai College Performing Arts Center will host a production of It’s a Wonderful Life: The Musical Dec. 15-18. The cast of 30 includes children as young as 7 and locals in their 70s, says Craig Ralston, the show’s director and the director of the performing arts center. (Craig says there are currently about 15 performing arts majors at Yavapai College.) The show, authored by Keith Ferguson, sticks to the story we all know and love and is peppered with 20 songs and even some dance numbers. The production also includes a live 15-piece orchestra. “The songs are beautifully written,” says Craig. “They maintain the integrity of the story.”
The musical will be staged at the 1,050-seat YCPAC on the Prescott campus of Yavapai College. The center will also host Ballet Victoria’s The Gift of the Nutcracker Dec. 2 and 3 as well as several holiday concerts including Handel’s Messiah on Dec. 4. But YCPAC has recently branched out from its Prescott headquarters, says Craig. In addition to the 28 shows that happen in Prescott this season, there will be three shows at the Sedona Performing Arts Center and two shows at the Phillip England Center for the Performing Arts in Camp Verde. (This is YCPAC’s 25th season.) Sedona’s first show was last month. Up next, the Golden Dragon Acrobats on March 4 and Ballet West II on April 29.
“Our goal is to bring arts education to Yavapai County,” says Craig, who has worked at Yavapai College for almost three years. “We bring in big-name artists, but what’s really important is the local talent. For It’s a Wonderful Life, we have performers coming from as far away as the Verde Valley. And it’s exciting for our students because when they leave Yavapai County, they will be competitive in the performing arts – they won’t feel like living in a rural town has slowed their artistic growth.” – Erika Ayn Finch. Photo by Bill Leyden.
SEDONA CALENDAR: Events, activities, shows, happenings
