Theater review by Joe Clark…
Paper Mill Playhouse has a resplendent production in Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. Ascendant dancing, expert comic timing, and classic Irving Berlin songs delivered joyfully and with abundant charm and spirit. This classic love story guarantees smiles and laughter – even for a Scrooge. This is a holiday bauble for all ages.
The musical tells the story of two World War II veterans with a successful television and stage song-and-dance act. They meet and follow a pair of sisters to an inn in Vermont. The inn is on the way out due to impending financial failure and turns out to be owned by their former and very much-admired commander.
High jinks and misunderstandings ensue. With a dazzling score featuring well-known standards including “Blue Skies,” “I Love A Piano,” “How Deep Is the Ocean” and the perennial title song, WHITE CHRISTMAS is an uplifting, visually stunning, winning production. The show is a Berlin jukebox musical based on the 1950s movie. But don’t let that stop you from experiencing the wonderment of the production at Paper Mill.
Lyrically, Berlin is an eternal optimist. There’s a sweet earnestness to lyrics, selling lines like “if you’re worried and you can’t sleep / count your blessings instead of sheep” and “let me sing and I’m happy.” In the well-cast hands of Max Clayton, Casey Garvin, Ashley Blanchett, and Keely Beirne and the excellent ensemble each song is a vibrant story in and of itself. They are individually and collectively terrific actors, dancers, comics and in particular, singers.
The story is brought to life in vibrant colors, with exquisitely lovingly detailed sets and elegant costuming from Anna Louizos and Carrie Robbins, respectively. The production successfully balances the many locations and the shows-within-the-show through effective lighting (designed by Charlie Morrison) and sets that ultimately reveal the wooden frame of the inn’s rehearsal barn. The costumes efficiently evoke 1950s entertainment with suits and a variety of dresses. Each creative aspect comes together to form a tapestry of wonder that builds in complexity and design until the final “production within a production” scene that is just an amazing spectacle.
Expertly directed by Paper Mill Producing Artistic Director, Mark S. Hoebee. That’s probably the best word to describe this entire show, it truly is a spectacle. From vignette-like scenes in dressing rooms and train cars, to grander scenes such as nightclubs the details are done right. The staging, choreography and singing of each piece of this show is enacted with an enormous amount of detail, heart, and comic panache.
If you are looking for a highly professional, entertaining and laudable affordable production of a family-friendly, all-American musical with true inter-generational appeal, this one surely fits the bill. It’s a unifying, big-hearted kind of show and we could all use one of those right now.
The production runs through December 29th. Tickets and more information at www.papermill.org
Photos: Jeremy Daniel
