MONMOUTH

I thought I had never been to Theater at Monmouth — nevermind the little central Maine hamlet itself. But last Thursday night I plugged the address for Cumston Hall into the GPS of my smartphone and headed across the backroads for TAM’s Monmouth Night preview of “This Wonderful Life,” a one-man play adapted from the 1946 Frank Capra film “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

Upon arriving at Cumston Hall, home of the local public library as well as the 250-seat theater, and even more so as I took my seat near the front of the stage, I realized I HAD been there before.

How could I forget the fresco mural ceiling, painted pink angels swirling above my head? Or the feeling that I was inside the frosted flourishes of a wedding cake, elaborate plaster carvings that tempted me to want to break off little pieces of the architecture and eat it like Gretyl — or Hansel?

Yet I could not locate when, where, why or with whom I would ever have traveled to Monmouth as a child.

That’s what happens when you grow up. You forget.

“This Wonderful Life” is about remembering.

I admit — as a member of the Rankin/Bass generation of stopaction Christmas specials like “Rudolph” — I have never seen “It’s a Wonderful Life.” So it took me about 20 minutes to figure out that Mike Anthony, in addition to narrating, was also George Bailey, the reluctant, yet reasonably cheerful main character, who devoted his life to his community yet finds himself on the verge of a Christmas Eve suicide, after a series of unfortunate events.

Once I got that sorted out, it didn’t take long to accept that Anthony was also Clarence the Angel, Mary (George’s wife), Old Man Potter and Uncle Billy, as well as a bunch of other important (though ancillary characters). By the end of the show, I could swear the whole town was on stage and not just one actor with a handful of props and a knack for the nuances — unique facial expressions, postures or gestures — that made each character distinctly different from another.

Producing Artistic Director Dawn McAndrews directed the show, which is the first holiday show TAM has produced in its 43-year history. “The board of directors told me when I was still interviewing for the job (in 2011) that they wanted to do a holiday show as a way to give back to the people of Monmouth. Last year we did carol sings and got involved with community suppers. This year, we were ready to put on a show,” she said.

McAndrews had seen Mark Setlock, who originally conceived “This Wonderful Life,” perform the show at the Repertory Theater of St. Louis and thought it would be a great addition to the host of local holiday theater offerings.

“I wanted something different. Public Theatre always does ‘A Christmas Carol’ and Portland Stage does ‘Santaland Diaries. ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is already a tradition for so many people, I thought this would be a good play to offer at the theater,” she said.

The film stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a man who has given up his dreams in order to help others, and whose imminent suicide on Christmas Eve brings about the intervention of his guardian angel, Clarence. Clarence shows George all the lives he has touched and how different life in his community would be had he never been born.

Compared to the more elaborate summer productions that TAM is known for, Jim Alexander’s set and lights of “This Wonderful Life” are as minimal as the number of actors on stage. Simple signs indicating places such as Bailey’s Boarding House and the drugstore where George Bailey worked as a boy created an uncluttered setting, punctuated only by a stool, a bench, Old Man Potter’s chair and a small table.

But what Anthony generates with these few simple props is a series of relationships that create the community George Bailey cared for and that ultimately, by the end of the play, took care of him.

“There’s this sense that the shows we do in the summer are for summer people,” McAndrews said. “By doing this show that is so much about community, it’s our way of saying to Monmouth, ‘this is just for you.’”

But on preview night, I felt like “This Wonderful Life” was just for me. As I immersed myself in the life of George Bailey, I remembered it was my life growing up in a small Maine town that first brought me to a place called Cumston Hall. I was in fifth grade. I came with a school friend to see “Rumpelstiltskin.” These are the memories that make a life and the moments that knit one into the heart of what it means to belong to a given place at a given time with given people.

“This Wonderful Life” opened last weekend and continues tonight and Saturday, Dec. 8, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m. Matinee performances are at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Ticket prices range from $20 to $28.

For calendar and reservations, call the TAM Box Office at 933-9999 or visit www.theateratmonmouth.org.