'It's a Wonderful Life' is a musical, too

"To my big brother, George, the richest man in town."

As glasses are raised near the end of Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life," that toast by Harry Bailey -- brimming with irony and affection -- is a favorite in film history.

George Bailey, played, of course, by Jimmy Stewart in the 1946 movie that's become a black-and-white holiday touchstone, is "every man's Everyman," says John Simpkins, who directs the Sheldon Harnick-Joe Raposo musical version opening Friday at the John W. Engeman Theater at Northport. "A Wonderful Life," which played the Engeman in 2007, has been revised by Harnick, "who's always tinkering with it," says Simpkins.

Does the director and his lead actor, Will Reynolds, find it daunting to present a character nearly everyone thinks they know?

"We talked about whether or not we should watch the film," says Simpkins, who previously directed "Damn Yankees" at the Engeman.

Maybe it was necessary because, as Reynolds admitted, he'd never seen "It's a Wonderful Life" all the way through. "It's always been on sort of in the background," says the actor whose credits include Tony Kushner's adaptation of "The Illusion."

So what did he and the director learn from seeing the film, uninterrupted, together?

"An impression of Jimmy Stewart would be misplaced," Reynolds says.

"In the movie, George Bailey doesn't sing and dance," Simpkins adds with a laugh.

LIFE AND DEBT The irony of brother Harry's toast, for those few who've never seen the film, is that George finds he's worth more dead than alive. A life insurance payout would far exceed his equity in the policy. George desperately needs cash because a deposit from the family savings and loan has been misplaced. A scandal, even imprisonment, looms on Christmas Eve. It's that crisis, Simpkins says, which delivers the musical's finest moment. It belongs to Alison Walla, playing George's wife, Mary. "Putting it in song," Simpkins says, "you're allowed a little more latitude to climb inside the character's head." The song is "I Couldn't Be in Love With Anyone But You." It's a moment, too, for Reynolds to plumb the depths of George's character, Simpkins says. "It's one of the few times we see him sulking rather than trying to find the glass half full."

TIMELY AGAIN In studying the time frame for "A Wonderful Life" -- pre-Depression through early postwar -- Simpkins says he was struck by the story's current relevance. "There's a run on the banks and people are out of work, losing their homes. It's surprisingly, distressingly timely."

"Audiences see themselves in George Bailey's story," says Reynolds.

But what they won't see is a replication of the film. For his attempted suicide, George chooses a train rather than a bridge. Purists may be horrified. "And some people wonder why we eliminate the swimming pool scene," says Simpkins, as if you could erect on stage a gymnasium pool that swallows couples dancing in a Charleston contest.

Some things are better left to Capra.

WHAT "A Wonderful Life," the musical

WHEN | WHERE 3 and 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday and 8 p.m. Wednesday, through Jan. 8 at the John W. Engeman Theater at Northport, 250 Main St.

INFO $60; engemantheater.com, 631-261-2900