SYNOPSIS OF THE STORY

Clarence is taken back to June, 1928, to learn all that has led to George's "crucial night" on Christmas Eve. The curtain rises to reveal the idyllic small town of Bedford Falls, New York in You Are Now In Bedford Falls. We learn that George is about to leave on a trip to Europe that he has saved money for over the last four years. He will take his dream vacation in the summer, then begin college in the fall. George's brother, Harry, has just finished high school and will take George's job, working with his father, at the Bailey Building & Loan. As George prepares to leave, the people of Bedford Falls share their memories and well-wishes in That's George Bailey.

Around the dinner table that same evening, George's father suggests that perhaps George should consider staying on at the Bailey Building & Loan. George reacts that he wants to get on with his life and do "something big, something important." Pop and Mother Bailey gently remind George that they feel they have done something important and that happiness is simpler than you think in A Place to Call Home.

George decides to attend his brother Harry's high school graduation dance. While there, he meets Mary Hatch, a girl he knew only as a child, who seems now to be a woman. George and Mary leave the dance together as the dance contest begins in Would You Like to Dance with Me?

George and Mary share a romantic walk together beneath a full moon as they share the hopes and dreams of their lives in If You Want the Moon. Their date is interrupted as Uncle Billy rushes to tell George that his father has just had a stroke. Mary sings of her love and prayers for George and their future together in My George Bailey.

As the next scene begins, we learn that George's father has died. The board of the Bailey Building and Loan is meeting to discuss whom to appoint as successor. They thank George for giving up his trip to Europe to keep the Building & Loan going through the summer. Mr. Potter makes a move to see the Building & Loan dissolved, as he has always wanted to destroy whatever he did not own or control in Bedford Falls. George confronts Mr. Potter directly. In the outside office, as they await the decision of the board, Sam Wainwright entices George to go into business and invest with him in plastics, as Cousin Tilly and Uncle Billy urge George to keep his plans and attend college in Chance of a Lifetime. As the song ends, the board votes to keep the Building & Loan going, provided George remains as the Executive in charge.

In the next scene, we learn that George decided to stay, and sent Harry on to college in his place. The arrangement was that Harry would return and take George's place when he finished college. However, Harry returns to Bedford Falls with a wife and a new job, dashing George's hopes of ever leaving. George's mother recognizes George's discouragement and reminds him that "Mary Hatch is back in town." George comments that Mary is not interested in him, but his mother seems to know otherwise. George leaves to call on Mary, and the next thing we hear is the Wedding March and we are at the wedding. Just as the wedding is ending, George learns that there has been a run on the bank, and that one has just begun at the Building & Loan. George leaves to get to the office and see what the trouble is.

Once there, George finds the Building & Loan in chaos as customers are there demanding all of their assets. Potter has phoned and said he would "help" by offering them "fifty cents on the dollar" for their shares at the bank. George sees through Potter's ploy, and encourages them to have faith in one another and not pull out, explaining that their money is invested in homes all over town. Mary gives George their honeymoon money, which George uses to give cash to the customers "until the bank reopens" in We've Got to Stick Together.

We see that in the next few years, George is having success in developing some neighborhoods as we visit Mr. & Mrs. Martini in Bailey Park in front of their new home as they sing to George, Bless You, George Bailey.

The next scene reveals that Mr. Potter is jealous and nervous about George's growing success in developing Bailey Park, as more and more citizens of Bedford Falls move out of Potter's rental properties into new homes that George has financed. Mr. Potter asks his secretary to set up a meeting with George Bailey. George arrives for his meeting with Mr. Potter. Potter is direct with George and offers him a job, seeking to entice him with a high salary in Tell Me What You Want. George is intrigued by the idea, but ultimately knows he must turn the offer down, seeing once again Potter's manipulation at work. He leaves Potter's office in defiance.

George comes home to his simple surroundings in a melancholy mood, remembering all that he had hoped for and wished for in George Remembers (Underscore). Mary comes in to talk with George. She coyly shares that she is expecting their first child. This news lifts George's spirits and he resolves once again to find success and "be somebody" for their child. Mary reassures George that she has all the happiness she wants as they share their love and joy in It's a Wonderful Life as the curtain falls on Act I.

In the Act II Prologue, Clarence learns that in the intervening years, George and Mary have had four children. George has continued to work hard at the Building & Loan as Potter is "bearing down hard." World War II has come and gone, and everyone in Bedford Falls has been effected. Harry Bailey is a war hero and has received a Congressional Medal of Honor as a Navy flier. Sam Wainwright made a fortune in plastics, while George "fought the battle of Bedford Falls."

It is now Christmas Eve in Bedford Falls, and the whole town has gathered on Main Street to hear the announcement regarding Harry Bailey's medal, and plans are announced for the annual Christmas Eve service to be held that evening, as well as a banquet in Harry's honor the day after Christmas. In the next scene, Uncle Billy is at the bank to make a deposit of $8,000 - all the money the Building & Loan has. Once there, he sees Potter reading the paper, with the news of Harry Bailey's medal on the front page. He taunts Potter victoriously in You Can't Keep Those Bailey Brothers Down. However, in his glee, he makes the mistake of handing Potter the paper bag with the cash for his deposit folded inside the newspaper. As Uncle Billy panics at his loss, looking for the money, Potter remains silent, recognizing his best opportunity to finally kill the Bailey Building & Loan in Potter's Reprise.

At the Bailey Building & Loan, the Bank Examiner has come to examine the records. As George instructs a panicked Uncle Billy to pull the records for the examiner, Violet Bick comes in. She tells George of her need for help and her plans to move to New York City. George responds with compassion and a small loan. Violet sings of her admiration of George in That's George Bailey to Me (Violet's Reprise). After she leaves, the Bank Examiner, losing his patience demands to see the records. Uncle Billy shares with George that he has lost the money. George realized that this could lead to "bankruptcy, scandal, and prison." The scene ends as George storms out in a rage.

At the Bailey home, Mary and the children are excitedly preparing for Christmas Eve and sing A Place to Call Home (Reprise). George comes home, obviously depressed and distracted. Mary notices this right away. George, irritated by the children and their activity, lashes out at the family, frightening Mary and the children. George, unable to tell Mary what has happened, runs out of the house. Mary calls for help and instructs the children to pray.

George, at the end of his rope, goes to Potter's office and asks Potter for a loan to meet the obligation for the Bank Examiner. Potter seizes the opportunity to finally finish George and the Baileys. He accuses George of embezzlement and states that he will call the police in Go Ahead and Run. George runs out, believing that he has no hope.

George runs to a bridge overlooking a river outside Bedford Falls, contemplating suicide. He cries out to God with his fears in My Life. Just as he is about to jump off the bridge, he hears another man jump and the man's screams for help. It is Clarence, the angel. George jumps in to rescue Clarence. In a hut near the bridge, Clarence attempts to explain to George who he is and his purpose in coming to him in Second Class Angel. George, in his despair, comments, "I wish I'd never been born." Clarence sees this as the perfect way to show George the value of his life, and grants George's wish. George, skeptical of Clarence's claims, decides to go back into town and see what is happening. Bedford Falls is now Pottersville, and George's influence was not there to stop Potter. George is devastated that no one, not even his wife and mother, recognizes him. and in fact, they are afraid of him. Clarence details the ways in which lives have been altered because "George was never born." Clarence sings of God's love and purpose for George in It's a Wonderful Life (Clarence's Reprise).

George returns to the bridge, crying out to God, "I want to live again, I want to live again." Aware of all that he has learned and experienced, George sings of his new-found faith and hope in My Life-Reprise. He hurriedly returns home to find the whole town gathered at his home. Mary has organized the people and collected more than enough money to cover the $8,000 loss. Sam Wainwright telegrams that he has wired $25,000 to help the Building & Loan through the crisis. George, joyfully reunited with his family, sings the FINALE-It's a Wonderful Life as the entire company joins him. As the music continues, the scene changes as the Company sings to Main Street on Christmas Eve as the children present the annual Nativity Story as George reads the story from the Bible.