Bedford Falls in Pasadena

It’s about time for that annual trip to small-town Bedford Falls, to touch base with George Bailey and the holiday miracle that restores his faith in himself and the world.

Many will make the journey by scanning the television listings for an airing of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” but a check of theater schedules this time of year typically also yields various live versions, some parodic, others faithful to the 1946 film directed by Frank Capra.

Pasadena Playhouse is on the list this season with performances of the screenplay as condensed for broadcast on “Lux Radio Theatre” on March 10, 1947. These are presented vintage radio style, with a rotating roster of celebrities in key roles. Stuart Ross, the nostalgia expert behind “Forever Plaid,” directs.

The result is a perfect storm of marketable, time-tested ideas: “It’s a Wonderful Life” as filtered through “The 1940’s Radio Hour” as filtered through “Love Letters.”

Opening weekend found a passel of TV personalities topping the bill: Michael Richards as George Bailey, Sara Rue as Mary Bailey, Orson Bean as Clarence the guardian angel and Susan Sullivan as the announcer and supervising angel.

They’ve concluded their runs, to be replaced this week by Robert Picardo as George, Stephanie Zimbalist as Mary, Hal Linden as Clarence and Tom Hatten as the announcer. The roster will continue to change weekly, with additional casts to be posted through Jan. 1.

The radio format makes it seem natural for the celebrity actors -- who must face audiences after only about 12 hours of rehearsal -- to stand at microphones, reading from scripts.

The static nature of the presentation is significantly counterbalanced by production values, especially Gary Wissmann’s set, which transforms the playhouse stage into a CBS radio studio of sleek, 1940s Modern design. A sound-effects desk (manned by Tony Palermo) stands to one side of the room and a keyboard (played by Jonathan Green) is tucked into a corner.

Aside from newly written commercial breaks, the abbreviated script -- performed in a brisk 70 minutes -- is said to be exactly what radio audiences heard in 1947. (A different radio version is being performed in Hollywood by Actors Co-op.) The story begins, of course, in heaven, with a supervising angel prepping Clarence, a kindly but dithering apprentice angel, for a rescue mission. “There’s a very discouraged man down there,” the supervising angel tells Clarence. Good guy George Bailey, overwhelmed by distressing events, is contemplating suicide.

In the role so strongly associated with Jimmy Stewart, Richards exuded a breathy, gee-whiz charm at Saturday’s opening performance.

The audience delighted in hearing him utter such vintage expressions as “doggone it,” the “G” held for an extra moment of punctuation, in a manner similar to Stewart’s and only slightly reminiscent of Richards’ own Cosmo Kramer character on “Seinfeld.” “Well, you look like the kind of angel I’d get,” Richards said with amusing glumness while contemplating the wingless, mundane-looking Clarence, then proceeded to go on lamenting his life.

“You just don’t realize what you’ve done for folks,” Bean, as Clarence, said in that kindly, befuddled voice that is that actor’s trademark.

The rotating quartet is supported by an ongoing team -- Andrew Borba, Ivar Brogger, Jenna Cole, Monette Magrath, Brian McGovern, Robert Mandan and Harrison White -- giving voice to everyone from drunken pharmacist Mr. Gower to little Zuzu Bailey.

The “commercials” that turn out to be shameless plugs for production sponsor Wells Fargo and for the Playhouse are mildly annoying, and the top ticket price of $58 might put a dent in some people’s holiday budgets.

But there’s no resisting this story’s emotional pull. The journey that reminds George of all the good in his life is one we all might profitably make, to be reminded that, as Clarence puts it: “Each man’s life touches so many other lives.”

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‘It’s a Wonderful Life’

Where: Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena

When: 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays this week and next; Christmas and New Year’s weeks vary

Ends: Jan. 1

Price: $37 to $58

Contact: (626) 356-7529 or www.PasadenaPlayhouse.org

Running time: 1 hour, 10 minutes