White Christmas is a musical based on the Paramount Pictures 1954 film of the same name. The book is by David Ives and Paul Blake, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. The original St. Louis production starred Lara Teeter, Karen Mason, Lauren Kennedy, and Lee Roy Reams, and the 2004 San Francisco production starred Brian D'Arcy James, Anastasia Barzee, Meredith Patterson, and Jeffry Denman.
Video White Christmas (musical)
Production history
Regional productions
The musical, titled Irving Berlin's White Christmas, premiered in St. Louis in 2000 at The Muny, after which it opened in San Francisco in 2004. It has since played in various venues in the US and Canada, such as Boston, Buffalo, Los Angeles, Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Detroit, Denver, St. Paul, and Louisville.
UK tour (2006-2011)
The musical toured the United Kingdom over the Christmas seasons of 2006-07 (Plymouth and Southampton) and 2007-08 (Edinburgh and Cardiff). The cast for the tour included Craig McLachlan as Bob Wallace, Tim Flavin as Phil Davis, Rachel Stanley as Betty Haynes, Emma Kate Nelson as Judy Haynes, Ken Kercheval as The General and Lorna Luft as Martha. The same production reappeared at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth in November 2009, before transferring to The Lowry, Manchester for Christmas and into early 2010. Aled Jones, Suzanne Shaw, Adam Cooper, Louise Plowright, Rachel Stanley and Roy Dotrice starred. The same production played from November 2010 until January 2011 at the Sunderland Empire Theatre. Tom Chambers, Adam Cooper, Rachel Stanley, Louise Bowden, Ken Kercheval and Kerry Washington starred in the show. All of the UK tours featured the original choreography of Randy Skinner.
Broadway 2008-09 and US tour
White Christmas played a limited engagement on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre, which started in previews on November 14, 2008 running through January 4, 2009, for 53 performances and 12 previews. The production was directed by Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Randy Skinner. The cast featured Stephen Bogardus, Kerry O'Malley, Jeffry Denman, Meredith Patterson, Susan Mansur and Charles Dean, all of whom had performed in regional productions.
Australian/Victorian premiere 2009 performance
The musical was performed by MLOC Productions Inc at the Phoenix Theatre in Elwood, Victoria. This was an all new restaging, directed by Judy Sullivan. Musical direction was by Geoff Earle (assisted by Jack Earle) and choreography was by Merilyn Young. The cast featured Peter Phillips as Bob Wallace, cabaret performer John Davidson as Phil Davis, Rowena Brown as Betty Haynes, and Kate Knight as Judy Haynes. It featured Simon Fitzgerald as General Waverly, Sally Fleming as Martha Watson, Olivia Seerup as Susan Waverly and David Higgins as Ralph Sheldrake. It started its run on 6 November, running through 14 November, and had a second season from 18 to 20 December.
2009 Broadway revival
The musical returned to Broadway at the Marquis Theatre, in a limited engagement running from November 13, 2009 (previews) through January 3, 2010. Bobbie and Skinner again directed and choreographed. The cast featured James Clow as Bob Wallace, Mara Davi as Judy Haynes, Melissa Errico as Betty Haynes, Tony Yazbeck as Phil, David Ogden Stiers as General Henry Waverly and Ruth Williamson as Martha Watson. This production also had a U.S. national tour, starting in Omaha, Nebraska on November 1, 2009 and ending in Kansas City, Missouri, on January 5, 2010.
2014 West End production
The musical played the Dominion Theatre in a limited engagement and starred Aled Jones, Tom Chambers, Rachel Stanley, Louise Bowden, and Wendi Peters. Randy Skinner's original Broadway choreography was re-created for the West End production.
2014-2015 US tour
White Christmas toured the United States over the Christmas seasons of 2014-2015, starting in previews on November 11, 2014 running through January 4, 2015. The production was directed and choreographed by Randy Skinner. The cast featured Jeremy Benton, James Clow, Kaitlyn Davidson, Trista Moldovan, Cliff Bemis, Danny Gardner, Pamela Myers, Ryan Reilly, Conrad John Schuck, Elizabeth Crawford and Ava Della Pietra.
2013 US tour
The 2013 White Christmas national tour - directed by Norb Joerder and choreographed by Randy Skinner - opened on November 2, 2013 and closed on December 29, 2013, playing venues throughout the country in Springfield, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Fayetteville, Milwaukee, Baltimore, Des Moines, and Dallas. The cast featured James Clow, Trista Moldovan, David Elder, Meredith Patterson, Ruth Williamson, Joseph Costa, Cliff Bemis, Cory Bretsch, Shannon Harrington, Tony Lawson, and Grace Matwijec.
2012 US tour
The 2012 White Christmas tour - directed by Norb Joerder and choreographed by Randy Skinner - opened on November 11, 2012 and closed on January 6, 2013 playing cities including Hershey, Nashville, Columbus, Dayton, Buffalo, and ended with a month-long run at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The cast included James Clow, Stefanie Morse, David Elder, Mara Davi, Ruth Williamson, Joseph Costa, Cliff Bemis, Shannon Harrington, Tony Lawson, Andie Mechanic, and Kilty Reidy.
Maps White Christmas (musical)
Critical response and awards
Critics of the Broadway production were unimpressed, including Charles Isherwood of The New York Times, who wrote that the show was as "fresh and appealing as a roll of Necco wafers found in a mothballed Christmas stocking." Nevertheless, the show received two 2009 Tony Award nominations for Best Choreography (Randy Skinner) and Best Orchestrations (Larry Blank). It also received 2009 Drama Desk Award nominations for Walter Bobbie, Outstanding Director of a Musical, Outstanding Choreography, Outstanding Orchestrations, Outstanding Set Design of a Musical (Anna Louizos), Outstanding Costume Design (Carrie Robbins), and Outstanding Sound Design (Acme Sound Partners).
Song list
Principal roles and Broadway original cast
- Bob Wallace - Stephen Bogardus (role originated in world premiere by Lara Teeter)
- Phil Davis - Jeffry Denman (role originated in world premiere by Lee Roy Reams)
- Betty Haynes - Kerry O'Malley (role originated in world premiere by Karen Mason)
- Judy Haynes - Meredith Patterson (role originated in world premiere by Lauren Kennedy)
- Ezekiel Foster/Mr. Snoring Man/Quintet Member - Cliff Bemis
- Mike Nulty/Ed Sullivan Announcer/Regency Room Announcer - Sheffield Chastain
- General Henry Waverly - Charles Dean (role originated in world premiere by Howard Keel)
- Susan Waverly - Melody Hollis
- Martha Watson - Susan Mansur
- Ralph Sheldrake - Peter Reardon
References
External links
- White Christmas on the Internet Broadway Database
- New York Times review
- Original cast album on Sh-K-Boom Records
Source of article : Wikipedia
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