The Ludlow Village Players are taking an annual holiday tradition in a new direction this year with “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play.”

The two-night family friendly reader’s theater opens each evening with performers of both holiday and non-holiday themed music at the Beach Club stage in Port Ludlow.

The familiar holiday favorite tale is staged in the form of a 1940s radio broadcast, which Ludlow Village Players spokesperson Ruth Gribbin-Schmitt noted is in keeping with the story’s evolution over various media, since “It’s a Wonderful Life” began as the short story “The Greatest Gift,” written by Philip Van Doren Stern in 1939, before it was adapted into the film directed by Frank Capra in 1946.

“The film remains memorable for its message that no man is a failure who has friends,” Gribbin-Schmitt said, before adding that Joe Landry's adaptation for the stage “captures the essence of that original film, while adding a unique twist, reminiscent of old-time radio broadcasts.”

The evening’s musicians are set to include singer Mark Alexander on guitar, vocalist Melissa Denny, Robert McGregor on saxophone, Darrell Plank on piano and Larry Wischhoefer playing harmonica, while the cast includes Stephen Browning, Glenn Gilbert, Jim Gormly, Christie Lang, Madison Maxwell and Kelly McNees.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for the 7 p.m. play on Friday, Nov. 8, and Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Beach Club, on 121 Marina View Drive in Port Ludlow.

Tickets are available at brownpapertickets online, or for a $20 scholarship donation at the door.