Based on the classic 1946 Frank Capra film It's a Wonderful Life starring James Stewart, the story closely follows the original plot, set in 1945, telling the story of a suicidal man whose guardian angel reveals to him how different the world and everyone whose life he has touched would be if he'd never been born.

The film was based on the 1943 short booklet by Philip Van Doren Stern, The Greatest Gift.

Harnick and Raposo worked for many years to put together a musical version of It's a Wonderful Life, but just as the musical's book was completed, a controversy arose over the rights to the underlying Stern story that delayed production of the show.

[2] On December 12, 2005, a staged concert version was directed by Carl Andress and choreographed by Denis Jones at the Shubert Theatre in New York City for the benefit of the Actors' Fund of America.

[3] The Paper Mill Playhouse presented a fully staged production, from November through December 17, 2006, directed by James Brennan; it received moderately positive reviews.