“Very, very, very loosely based on ‘It’s A Wonderful Life.’”

That’s the tagline of Chris Sorensen’s new play, “Miracle on Mistletoe Mountain,” which Thin Air Theatre Company will be performing through Dec. 29 at Butte Theater. With themes of friendship, goodwill and an angel looking to earn its wings, the inspiration is clear.

The Christmas play is set in Gold Rush-era Cripple Creek, and follows couple Joe and Molly Kelly, who run a boarding house and welcome all in need. But they run into trouble when gold tycoon Mr. Parker becomes determined to seize their home and property. Meanwhile, an angel named Clara, struggling to earn her wings, receives one last chance: thwart Mr. Parker’s plans and save the Kellys.

“It’s all Christmas joy and holiday joy and feel-good stuff,” said Chris Armbrister, the artistic director for Thin Air Theatre Company. The heart-warming story is one that playwright Sorensen has been wanting to write for a while now. Sorensen has written several of the company’s previous Christmas plays, but Armbrister is really looking forward to this one, he said.

“’It’s a Wonderful Life’ is one of his favorite Christmas stories. So he wanted to adapt it to Cripple Creek, and has wanted to for a while,” Armbrister said about Sorensen. “I said, ‘Go for it.’ And he has knocked it out of the park.”

Following the play, members of the cast will perform a Christmas Olio, singing holiday classics. Instead of having new characters for the Olio, the musical performance will incorporate a storyline from the play, with some surprises, Armbrister said.

“In our finale, we bring in one of our classic twists,” he said. “People tend to enjoy that a lot.”

As for the play, Armbrister insists this is one of Sorensen’s best, really leaning into the warmth of Christmas spirit and themes of friendship.

“It’s a time where we have to stop and think about others. It’s a time that is about sharing,” Armbrister said. “The Kellys, who are the young couple, have that in bushels — that sense of we’re going to do what we can to provide these people, who who are less fortunate than us, with something.”