More Information About It Could Have Been a Wonderful Life

Website

http://www.wonderfullife.org/

Description

It Could Have Been A Wonderful Life is a one-man comedy about one man's attempt to come to terms with some serious identity issues. Phil Resnick is an aspiring comedian from Syracuse, New York, whose routines include Maxwell Smart as a mohel and Woody Allen as the host of the nature program, "Wild Rabbis." Trouble arises when Phil's father urges him to be more like his idol Jack Benny, who was funny but without being "too Jewish" (Jack did Christmas episodes on his radio and TV programs). This conflict haunts Phil all the way to Hollywood, where he fails to make it. He then returns home to Syracuse where he finds success hosting a senior talent show on the local public TV station. But a comedian friend's stardom on a dreadful hit network show causes Phil to think he's a failure again. He's rescued by his guardian angel (Jack Benny), who shows Phil what his life would've been like had he not left Hollywood.

Fred Raker, Phil Resnick's alter ego and a former writer for the "Tonight Show," is considered by insiders to be one of the finest impressionists performing today. During the course of the play, Fred skillfully inhabits the body and soul of two dozen characters including Woody Allen, Jackie Mason and a host of others both famous and not yet famous. Some enjoy the play simply for its comic pleasures. Others appreciate the serious undertone of a show that explores questions of identity and values in a Hollywood controlled largely by the unimaginative.