Director of It’s a Wonderful Life, Town Hall Theatre, Lafayette, CA, 2012
“I showed up only minutes before the curtain, trying to avoid friends in the lobby and knowing that in not too much time, I would be at my keyboard doing the journalistic equivalent of kicking a kitten. Then the show started. Within seconds, I was captivated, quickly learning the lesson that, while schmaltz tends not to work in movies, it comes on like gangbusters on stage (particularly in an intimate theater like Town Hall). The charming innocence of George Bailey (Dan Saski) comes through beautifully as we see, in flashback, how a genuinely good man can be led to suicide when life, and the wealthy town villain, Henry Potter (Randy Anger), turn against him. And, bang, I’m hooked like a carp…But it’s Porter who should get much of the credit for the living picture she creates with the show. From the start, when most of the actors are seated on stage with their backs to the audience, the show has an “Our Town” feel to it.”
—Pat Craig, Mercury News, December 4, 2012
“While Scrooge was a Town Hall Theatre favourite of holidays past, the stage adaptation of Frank Capra’s classic film It’s a Wonderful Life which opened Nov. 29 promises a production as successful and popular as the Dickens’ classic… A drama more than a comedy, It’s a Wonderful Life does not hesitate to dwell in the darkest corners of the human soul; it talks of greed, selfishness and treason. The story also explores how to deal with life when big dreams must be scaled down. But its charm comes from showing the difference one decent human being can make, and that the good you do can one day come back to you.. Porter brings this magic to the stage, and audience members are sure to leave Town Hall Theatre with happy hearts, filled with optimism and joy.”