Quick recipe for Christmas Show: Take the sparkly bits out of top hits by the masterful Irving Berlin, mash into one musical, find cute performers and nimble tappers, invent smashing concluding effects, blend with holiday spirit and let rise for two plus hours in a festive State Theatre at Playhouse Square.
Result? Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, a festive musical mish-mash of the 1954 film with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera Ellen. With only a few tiny plot changes and the addition of big numbers from other successful Berlin shows, it successfully recreates the spirit of optimism and “can-do” popular in the post World War II years.
The main reason to go? A familiar song list of old favorites such as “White Christmas,” “How Deep is the Ocean,” and “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.” Beautiful sets plus huge numbers successfully offer cute mini-shows within the show: “Blue Skies” featured a dramatic blue and white set and costumes and “I Love a Piano” blazed out in red as it showed some fine tapping and an amusingly alarming treatment of a tiny “piano.”
The thin plot (who cares?) winds around keeping a ski country inn in business even though there’s been no snow that season. When four unattached vocalists find themselves on a train to perform at a Vermont country inn, we know that romance rides along too. Sure enough, the dashing Bob (played by mellow-voiced James Clow) and Betty (lovely songstress Trista Moldovan) clash right away (that’s how we know they are meant for each other). Betty’s sister (perky Kaitlyn Davidson) has already fallen for Phil Davis (the comically “Danny Kayish” Jeremy Benton). Naturally, since the two are sisters, we get a spirited rendition of “Sisters.”
Henry Waverly, a former military commander turned Vermont innkeeper (played as a blustering, hapless fellow by Conrad John Schuck) and Martha Watson (a comically blasting vocalist [a la Ethel Merman] Pamela Myers) had some of the bet exchanges. When asked if she were married to Waverly, Watson replied that they might as well be since they fought all the time and never had sex. That’s about as racy as it got; it’s a fine family show.
Local icon and crowd favorite, Cliff Bemis (also in the Broadway production) got laughs as “Mr. Snoring Man” and crusty old Ezekiel Foster. Moldovan also has local ties (she’s a Baldwin Wallace University grad).
As directed (and choreographed) by Randy Skinner with Michael Horsley as musical director, and aided by an able cast, it still demonstrates (inadvertently) just how much musical theatre has changed in the last 50 years. Today’s top musicals insist on a more subtle integration of plot, music, complex characters, and often social commentary).
Bottom line: A colorful, snowy, light-hearted bit of fluff that should go well as dessert after a family feast at home or at one of the nearby restaurants.
The show continues through December 14 at the State Theatre at PlayhouseSquare with shows Tuesdays – Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go online to playhousesquare.
[Photo Credit: The Irving Berlin’s White Christmas 2014 National Tour Company, Photo by Kevin White]
Laura Kennelly is a freelance arts journalist, a member of the Music Critics Association of North America, and an associate editor of BACH, a scholarly journal devoted to J. S. Bach and his circle.Listening to and learning more about music has been a life-long passion. She knows there’s no better place to do that than the Cleveland area.
Cleveland, OH 44115