Last season Cygnet Theatre Company Artistic Director Sean Murray took a gamble on a live radio theater version of the 1946 Frank Capra film "It's a Wonderful Life." Would audiences flock to see a staged version of a classic movie overexposed on late night television and the butt of numerous parodies? They did, and Murray revived his 2006 production without a significant overhaul. Most of the cast has returned, and this season's production hums along at a slightly breathless pace and snappy repartee that is as slick as Kremill Hair Oil for Men, one of the radio drama's purported sponsors.

The amount of energy these nine actors infuse into the script, a taut adaptation by Joe Landry, is almost unnerving. Is this an homage to the melodramatic style of 1940s radio broadcasting or a kind of emotional Blitzkrieg intended to prevent the audience from examining too closely this thin, happy-ending morality play? O.K. This work is not about subtext or a theological argument for benificent divine intervention into mortal trials. It's about nostalgia for a more innocent time in American history, and Cygnet has distilled this particular numbing intoxicant at 100-proof strength.

Tom Andrew has freshened up his George Bailey, exorcising those Jimmy Stewart overtones from last season. His young George is a bit more rakish and devil-may-care, and when his character deepens, Andrew finds his own brand of gravitas. Brenda Dodge's Mary Hatch remains sweetly supportive, without a hint of cloying sentimetality, although her permanent smile is wide enough for Old Man Potter to drive his Buick Roadmaster in and turn around. Cygnet newcomer but local favorite Jonathon Dunn-Rankin found just enough menace for Potter, the town's heartless banker-monopolist, but Dunn-Rankin was more winning in his other role as the radio show's announcer, no stretch for this former television newscaster.

David Gallagher's Clarence, George's rescuing guardian angel, exudes that American small-town combination of geniality and humility that I associate with those helpful guys who used to work in local hardware stores, before big-box stores made them obsolete. Melissa Fernandez was having way too much fun as Violet, the town hussy, although she could switch to innocent children's voices with ease. As the wise and doting Mrs. Bailey, Veronica Murphy works with prim efficiency, and she sports the smartest period hairstyle with its requisite pert little hat. If only she had found a pair of open-toed pumps that were so popular in the late 1940s. Overall, however, Jeanne Reith's generously tailored period costumes hit the mark with just the right touch of conservative, post-war flare. I found myself coveting several of the men's spiffy ties.

This time around Scott Paulson as the on-stage and hyperactive Foley Artist seemed to fade into the background, although his myriad sound effects and punctuating harp glissandos remain perfectly tailored to the script. Perhaps the novelty of this conceit, the live Foley artist in his Magritte-inspired bowler hat, is wearing off. Music director and house pianist Shane Simmons is equally tuned into the period accents, especially with the coy female vocal trios--the faux commercials and the show-opening "Winter Wonderland" song--turned out in the dulcet, close harmonies of the Andrews Sisters. Sean Murray's clever set--of course the station is WCGY--and tight direction live up to Cygnet's own high standards.

Will Cygnet keep "Wonderful Life" in its line-up as a permanent December fixture? If the company wants to keeps its cutting-edge image secure, imitating the marketing strategies of the "Grinch"-loving Old Globe is an unlikely path to follow.