Cabaret Scenes Theatre Review

Are you dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones you used to know in the movies? Irving Berlin's White Christmas comes close. There is plenty of dancing, singing, a corny plot with affable characters. You’d have to be Scrooge not to warm up to this cheery production. In a limited run at the Marquis Theatre, White Christmas is based on the 1954 film starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen. The story is familiar. Boys meet girls, one boy loses girl, both boys get their girls in the finale.

It is the closing days of WW II. Song-and-dance partners, straight-laced Bob Wallace (Stephen Bogardus) and womanizer Phil Davis, (Jeffry Denman), are performing in an Army show. Ten years later, they are a successful entertaining team in clubs and television variety shows. They meet the singing Haynes Sisters, Judy (Kerry O'Malley) and Betty (Meredith Patterson). Phil falls in love with Betty, and Bob, in a convoluted way, with Judy. After a little wheedling, they all find themselves on a train headed for a gig in a picturesque Vermont inn. They think the inn will be filled with holiday travelers, but alas — no snow, the inn is empty and the show is cancelled. Making matters worse, the inn is broke.

But hold on — the guys know the innkeeper. It is their beloved former Army commander, now retired General Henry Waverly (Charles Dean). What's left to do but put on a show and save the general's inn. Of course, there are a couple of hiccups along the way, but everything works out in the end. The show is a spectacle and the Christmas is white. This is not giving anything away. You’ve seen it all before.

Colorful secondary characters include the housekeeper, Martha (Susan Mansur), secretly in love with the general and dedicated to helping him save the inn. She would not mind finding a song-and-dance spot for herself in the show. Likewise the general's precocious granddaughter, Susan (Melody Hollis), also discovers she has been bitten by the show-biz bug. In addition, there is a laid-back handyman, Ezekial (Cliff Bemis), who mostly grumbles, “Ay-yup” the way they supposedly do in New England.

Walter Bobbie keeps as lively a pace as he can, with numerous stops for a song and dance. Since the tunes come from Irving Berlin’s musical score bolstered by some from the piano bench, they are the brightest bulbs on this White Christmas tree. “Blue Skies” and Bob and Judy's duet of “Count Your Blessings” set the optimistic spirit of the story. The long train ride from New York to Pine Tree, Vermont is blessedly brightened by the harmonies of “Snow,” with the whole trainful of riders joining in.

Denman and Patterson are fierce tap-dancers. The two strongest musical spots includes their Act II opener, "I Love a Piano" on a swirling piano keys setting that replicates the old spectacular musical numbers. Also notable is a nightclub scene just after the two met, when they decide "The Best Things Happen When You're Dancing."

At one point, Judy leaves the show and re-appears in a swank New York nightclub with a gleaming cityscape backdrop and glossy black and white props. In one of Carrie Robbins' '50s appropriate costumes, a slinky black gown (not unlike the one Rosemary Clooney wore for the same song in the film) to deliver the grieving lyrics of "Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me.” Watching her is Bob, singing "How Deep Is the Ocean," an eloquent intertwining of the two ballads.

There is no stinting on costuming or sets. Anna Louizos's sets are pure fantasy, the sophisticated nightclub, the cozy inn, the heartwarming finale in the barn with sudden snow and the song, “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.” Choreography by Randy Skinner has the Fred Astaire/Hermes Pan grace, spirit and rhythm. The sluggishness that often bogs down the story is due to David Ives and Paul Blake's ho-hum book that does not evoke the warm humor of the popular film.

White Christmas does not reach the realm of truly magical but it has moments of real delight.

Irving Berlin's White Christmas runs from November 23 to January 4, 2009.

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
December 2, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org



	Irving Berlin's White Christmas Marquis Theatre New York, NY
Are you dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones you used to know in the movies? Irving Berlin's White Christmas comes close. There is plenty of dancing, singing, a corny plot with affable characters. You’d have to be Scrooge not to warm up to this cheery production. In a limited run at the Marquis Theatre, White Christmas is based on the 1954 film starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen. The story is familiar. Boys meet girls, one boy loses girl, both boys get their girls in the finale. It is the closing days of WW II. Song-and-dance partners, straight-laced Bob Wallace (Stephen Bogardus) and womanizer Phil Davis, (Jeffry Denman), are performing in an Army show. Ten years later, they are a successful entertaining team in clubs and television variety shows. They meet the singing Haynes Sisters, Judy (Kerry O'Malley) and Betty (Meredith Patterson). Phil falls in love with Betty, and Bob, in a convoluted way, with Judy. After a little wheedling, they all find themselves on a train headed for a gig in a picturesque Vermont inn. They think the inn will be filled with holiday travelers, but alas — no snow, the inn is empty and the show is cancelled. Making matters worse, the inn is broke. But hold on — the guys know the innkeeper. It is their beloved former Army commander, now retired General Henry Waverly (Charles Dean). What's left to do but put on a show and save the general's inn. Of course, there are a couple of hiccups along the way, but everything works out in the end. The show is a spectacle and the Christmas is white. This is not giving anything away. You’ve seen it all before. Colorful secondary characters include the housekeeper, Martha (Susan Mansur), secretly in love with the general and dedicated to helping him save the inn. She would not mind finding a song-and-dance spot for herself in the show. Likewise the general's precocious granddaughter, Susan (Melody Hollis), also discovers she has been bitten by the show-biz bug. In addition, there is a laid-back handyman, Ezekial (Cliff Bemis), who mostly grumbles, “Ay-yup” the way they supposedly do in New England. Walter Bobbie keeps as lively a pace as he can, with numerous stops for a song and dance. Since the tunes come from Irving Berlin’s musical score bolstered by some from the piano bench, they are the brightest bulbs on this White Christmas tree. “Blue Skies” and Bob and Judy's duet of “Count Your Blessings” set the optimistic spirit of the story. The long train ride from New York to Pine Tree, Vermont is blessedly brightened by the harmonies of “Snow,” with the whole trainful of riders joining in. Denman and Patterson are fierce tap-dancers. The two strongest musical spots includes their Act II opener, "I Love a Piano" on a swirling piano keys setting that replicates the old spectacular musical numbers. Also notable is a nightclub scene just after the two met, when they decide "The Best Things Happen When You're Dancing." At one point, Judy leaves the show and re-appears in a swank New York nightclub with a gleaming cityscape backdrop and glossy black and white props. In one of Carrie Robbins' '50s appropriate costumes, a slinky black gown (not unlike the one Rosemary Clooney wore for the same song in the film) to deliver the grieving lyrics of "Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me.” Watching her is Bob, singing "How Deep Is the Ocean," an eloquent intertwining of the two ballads. There is no stinting on costuming or sets. Anna Louizos's sets are pure fantasy, the sophisticated nightclub, the cozy inn, the heartwarming finale in the barn with sudden snow and the song, “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.” Choreography by Randy Skinner has the Fred Astaire/Hermes Pan grace, spirit and rhythm. The sluggishness that often bogs down the story is due to David Ives and Paul Blake's ho-hum book that does not evoke the warm humor of the popular film. White Christmas does not reach the realm of truly magical but it has moments of real delight. Irving Berlin's White Christmas runs from November 23 to January 4, 2009. Elizabeth Ahlfors Cabaret Scenes December 2, 2008 www.cabaretscenes.org

Irving Berlin's White Christmas

Marquis Theatre New York, NY

Marquis Theatre
New York, NY