''White Christmas'' is a musical based on the Paramount Pictures 1954 film of the same name. The book is by

David Ives David Ives (born July 11, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is perhaps best known for his comic one-act plays; ''The New York Times'' in 1997 referred to him as the "maestro of the short form". Ives has also written ...

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 Anastasia Barzee (born April 24, 1971) is an American actress. Born in Miami, Barzee is a graduate of Frost School of Music. Career Barzee originated the role of Betty Haynes in '' White Christmas''. She also originated the role of Josephin ...

, Meredith Patterson, and Jeffry Denman.

Productions

Regional

The musical, titled ''Irving Berlin's White Christmas'', premiered in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

in 2000 at

The Muny The St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre (commonly known as The Muny) is an amphitheatre, amphitheater located in St. Louis, Missouri. The theatre seats 11,000 people with about 1,500 free seats in the last nine rows that are available on a first ...

, after which it opened in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

in 2004. It has since played in various venues in the US and Canada, such as

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Buffalo,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, and

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

UK tour (2006–2011)

The musical toured over the Christmas seasons of 2006–07 (to Plymouth and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

) and 2007–08 (to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

and

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

). The cast for the tour included

Craig McLachlan Craig Dougall McLachlan (born 1 September 1965) is an Australian actor, musician, singer and composer. He has been involved in film, television, the music industry and music theatre for over 30 years. He is best known for appearing in the soap ...

as Bob, Tim Flavin as Phil, Rachel as Betty, Emma Kate Nelson as Judy,

Ken Kercheval Kenneth Marine Kercheval (July 15, 1935 – April 21, 2019) was an American actor, best known for his role as Cliff Barnes on the television series ''Dallas'' and its 2012 revival. Early life Kercheval was born on July 15, 1935, in Wolcottvill ...

as The General and

Lorna Luft Lorna Luft (born November 21, 1952) is an American actress, author, and singer. She is the daughter of Judy Garland and Sidney Luft and the half-sister of Liza Minnelli. Early life Luft was born on November 21, 1952, at Saint John's Health Cent ...

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 Aled Jones, (born 29 December 1970) is a Welsh singer and radio and television presenter. As a teenage chorister, he reached widespread fame during the mid-1980s. Since then he has worked in television with the BBC and ITV, and radio (for ...

Suzanne Shaw Suzanne Christine Crowshaw (born 29 September 1981), known as Suzanne Shaw, is an English actress, singer and television personality, who rose to fame after winning the talent contest ''Popstars'' and subsequently being a member of the band Hear' ...

, Adam Cooper, Louise Plowright, Rachel Stanley and

Roy Dotrice Roy Dotrice (26 May 1923 – 16 October 2017) was a British actor famed for his portrayal of the antiquarian John Aubrey in the record-breaking solo play '' Brief Lives''. Abroad, he won a Tony Award for his performance in the 2000 Broadway r ...

starred. The same production played from November 2010 until January 2011 at the Sunderland Empire Theatre, starring Tom Chambers, Cooper, Stanley, Louise Bowden,

and Kerry Washington. All of the UK tours featured the original choreography of Randy Skinner.

Broadway 2008–09 and U.S. tour

''White Christmas'' played a limited engagement on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

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 Walter Bobbie (born November 18, 1945) is an American theatre director, choreographer, and occasional actor and dancer. Bobbie has directed both musicals and plays on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and was the Artistic Director of the New York City ...

and choreographed by 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. The musical returned to 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 Mara Davi as Judy ,

Melissa Errico Melissa Errico (born March 23, 1970)"Melissa Errico"
profile,

as Betty

Tony Yazbeck Tony Yazbeck (March 14, 1979) is an American actor, singer, and dancer, best known for his work on the Broadway stage, including the revival of '' On the Town'', for which he received 2015 Tony Award and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for ...

as Phil,

David Ogden Stiers David Allen Ogden Stiers ( ; October 31, 1942 – March 3, 2018) was an American actor and conductor. He appeared in numerous productions on Broadway, and originated the role of Feldman in '' The Magic Show'', in which he appeared for fou ...

as General Waverly and Ruth Williamson as Martha 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.

2009 Australia

The musical was staged anew by MLOC Productions Inc at the Phoenix Theatre in Elwood, Victoria. The production was directed by Judy Sullivan, with choreography was by Merilyn Young. The cast featured Peter Phillips as Bob, John Davidson as Phil, Rowena Brown as Betty, and Kate Knight as Judy. It started its run on 6 November 2009, running through 14 November, and had a second run from 18 to 20 December.

2014 and 2019 West End

The musical played the

Dominion Theatre The Dominion Theatre is a West End theatre and former cinema on Tottenham Court Road, close to St Giles Circus and Centre Point, in the London Borough of Camden. Planned as primarily a musical theatre, it opened in 1929, but the following year ...

in 2014 in a limited engagement and starred

, Tom Chambers, Rachel Stanley, Louise Bowden, and Wendi Peters. Randy Skinner's original Broadway choreography was re-created for the West End production. After a tryout in 2018–2019 at Curve Theatre, Leicester, UK, a 2019 West End revival opened at the Dominion Theatre in London on 15 November 2019 and closed on 4 January 2020. It was directed by Nikolai Foster with new choreography by Stephen Mear. The cast included Danny Mac as Bob, Dan Burton as Phil, Clare Halse as Judy,

Danielle Hope Danielle Hope (born 26 April 1992) is an English actress and singer. She was the winner of the BBC talent contest '' Over The Rainbow'' and as a result played the part of Dorothy in the Andrew Lloyd Webber production of '' The Wizard of Oz'', w ...

as Betty and Brenda Edwards as Martha.

2007–2019 U.S. tours

From 2007 to 2019 (except 2008), brief tours were conducted each November and December (and sometimes running into the first week of the following January. The 2012 ''White Christmas'' tour, directed by Norb Joerder and choreographed by Skinner, opened on November 11, 2012 and closed on January 6, 2013 after a month-long run at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

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. Another tour the following year, also directed by Joerder and choreographed by Skinner, opened on November 2, 2013 and closed on December 29, 2013. The cast featured Clow, Trista Moldovan, David Elder, Patterson, Williamson, Costa, Bemis, Cory Bretsch, Harrington, Lawson, and Grace Matwijec. Another U.S tour over the Christmas season of 2014–2015, started in previews on November 11, 2014 running through January 4, 2015. The production was directed and choreographed by Skinner. The cast featured Jeremy Benton, Clow, Kaitlyn Davidson, Moldovan, Bemis, Danny Gardner, Pamela Myers, Ryan Reilly, Conrad John Schuck, Elizabeth Crawford and Ava Della Pietra. The 2016–2019 tours were directed and choreographed by Skinner, with Sean Montgomery as Bob, Benton as Phil, Kerry Conte as Betty, Kelly Sheehan as Judy, and

Karen Ziemba Karen Ziemba (born November 12, 1957) is an American actress, singer and dancer, best known for her work in musical theatre. In 2000, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in ''Contact''. Biography Ziem ...

as Martha. The tour closed in Boston at the Wang Center on December 29, 2019.

Critical response and awards

Critics of the Broadway production were unimpressed, including Charles Isherwood of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', 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 The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

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).Gans, Andre
Drama Desk Nominees Announced; 9 to 5 Garners Record-Breaking 15 Noms"
April 27, 2009

Musical numbers

;Act I *"Overture" - Orchestra *" Happy Holiday (1944)" - Bob Wallace and Phil Davis *" White Christmas (Music Box)" - Bob, Phil, Ralph Sheldrake and Ensemble *"Happy Holiday / Let Yourself Go" - Bob, Phil and Ensemble *"Love and the Weather" - Bob and Betty Haynes *"

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

" - Betty and Judy Haynes *"The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing" - Phil and Quintet *"Snow" - Phil, Judy, Bob, Betty, Mr. and Mrs. Snoring Man and Ensemble *"What Can You Do With a General?" - Martha Watson, Bob and Phil *"Let Me Sing and I'm Happy" - Martha *"

Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep) "Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin and used in the 1954 film '' White Christmas''. It is commonly performed as a Christmas song, although the lyrics make no reference to the December holiday. Histo ...

" - Bob and Betty *" Blue Skies" - Bob and Ensemble ;Act II *"Entr'acte" - Orchestra *" I Love a Piano" - Phil, Judy and Ensemble *"Falling Out of Love Can Be Fun" - Martha, Betty and Judy *"Sisters (Reprise)" - Bob and Phil *"Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me / How Deep Is the Ocean?" - Betty and Bob *"The Old Man (Prelude)" - Bob and Male Ensemble *"Let Me Sing and I'm Happy (Reprise)" - Susan Waverly *"How Deep Is the Ocean? (Reprise)" - Betty and Bob *"The Old Man" - Bob, Phil, Ralph and Male Ensemble *"White Christmas" - Bob and Company *"

I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" is a popular song copyrighted in 1937 by its composer, Irving Berlin, and first recorded by (i) Ray Noble (January 5, 1937), Howard Barrie, vocalist, and (ii) Red Norvo (January 8, 1937), Mildred Bailey, vocali ...

" - Full Company (Post - Curtain Call)

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 Harold Clifford Keel (April 13, 1919November 7, 2004), known professionally as Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer, known for his rich bass-baritone singing voice. He starred in a number of MGM musicals in the 1950s and in the CBS te ...

) *Susan Waverly – Melody Hollis *Martha Watson – Susan Mansur *Ralph Sheldrake – Peter Reardon

References

External links

''White Christmas'' on the Internet Broadway DatabaseOriginal cast album on Sh-K-Boom Records
{{Irving Berlin Musicals by Irving Berlin 2004 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals based on films Christmas musicals Backstage musicals