If you're looking for a big, beautifully wrapped, sweetly entertaining, thoroughly traditional Christmas show, then Irving Berlin's “White Christmas” should be just the ticket. In this 5th Avenue production, a re-mounting of their 2006 production, directors James A. Rocco and David Armstrong hit every note, both dramatic and musical, from the 1954 film starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen.
The contrived and transparent plot for this 2004 stage adaptation adds a few more Berlin classics to the sentimental story of old war buddies re-uniting to stage a big show for their beloved commanding officer (Frank Corrado) in the barn behind his Vermont Inn. Of course, it also brings the successful song and dance team of Bob Wallace (Michael Gruber) and Phil Davis (Greg McCormick Allen) together with the bubbly sister act of Judy (Taryn Darr) and Betty (Christina Saffran Ashford) for some romantic inevitability, and even connects the “Old Man” with his devoted assistant, Martha Wallace. Add a hearty dose of irresistible child star (Lauren Carlos and Drea Gordon, alternately), an irascible old-timer (Clayton Corzatte), loyal combat pals and big-time production numbers, topped off with falling snow and an audience sing-along and you have just about everything you could want in a theatrical decoration for the holiday season.
This cast is thoroughly professional, talented and energetic. The physical production is extravagant and very beautiful, joining nostalgic authenticity with stagy razzmatazz. Some of the production numbers, like “I love a Piano” in particular, are terrific throwbacks to the era of great singing, tapping, “let's put on a show” musical theater. All of the leads sing very well, and the two sisters are especially good. The team of Wallace and Davis is solid and charming, but not that special thing that constitutes a star performance. The only performer who rises above the respectably professional to really special is Carol Swarbrick as Martha Wallace. She lights up the stage in a way that underscores what is lacking in performances that otherwise would seem quite sufficient.
Make no mistake, the quality of these performances is admirable and no one is weak or inadequate. The show is a terrific holiday decoration. I suspect some of my dissatisfaction with the show as a whole has to do with the material itself. There is a fine line between a period piece that is nostalgic and one that simply feels dated. The opening number, in which we see Wallace and Davis performing for their fellow troops on the front lines, should have had great resonance for us as we face another Christmas as a nation at war. Instead, it felt entirely locked into World War II, the European front, 1944. Similarly, the style of the musical numbers, from the urbane “Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me” paired with “How Deep is the Ocean” to the gee whiz of “ Let Me Sing and I’m Happy” to the maudlin “Blue Skies” all felt like a museum restoration of a lost era of musical theater, not like a revival, a revitalization, a rediscovery. For all that, the genuine energy of the tap numbers, the astonishing talent of the young girls playing Susan, the terrific Martha Wallace, the overall competence and talent of the ensemble and the production team, it ends up being a pretty happy show. I don’t think this is the best thing the 5th Avenue has ever done, but it is certainly nothing to be embarrassed by, and it felt like a very satisfied, well-entertained audience standing appreciatively at the final curtain.
PICTURED ABOVE: The whole company welcomes the snowfall in White Christmas, the Irving Berlin musical playing now till December 30 at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre.
PHOTO BY: Chris Bennion.
