Great White Christmas Way - ReduxTomorrow, the return
Marquis Theatre engagement for
Irving Berlin's White Christmas begins previews after an absence of only eleven and a half months.
Last year's Great White Way mounting grossed over $9.1 million and played to an enviably large, nearly sold-out audience of over 92,000. With an average ticket price topping $100, it's not too difficult to understand why its producers are bringing it back in hopes of a truly green Christmas.
White Christmas is once again directed by
Walter Bobbie and features the brilliant, Tony-nominated choreography by
Randy Skinner. But this recreation of the
classic 1954 film has
Irving Berlin's beloved score as its main attraction.
While last year's
critical response was tepid at best, I can't help but think part of that had to do with some of the cast, particularly its male leads who were identical to those whom I
saw when the show toured St. Paul in 2006.
What a difference a year makes.
James Clow takes over the role of Bob Wallace from
Stephen Bogardus,
Tony Yazbeck assumes the role of Phil Davis from
Jeffry Denman,
Melissa Errico takes on Betty Haynes from
Kerry O'Malley and
Mara Davi will portray Judy Haynes, first played by
Meredith Patterson. It's Yazbeck's casting that has me thinking this show could actually improve over last year.
Will audiences make like a tree and flock to this
White Christmas once again? Certainly, that's what its producers are dreaming of to make their holiday season merry and bright.
The limited holiday season run of
White Christmas opens November 22 and is scheduled to close January 3, 2010.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
This story was corrected on November 13, 2009.Labels: Broadway, Irving Berlin, Musical, Revival, Walter Bobbie, White Christmas
White Christmas: Were Reviews Merry And Bright?Director
Walter Bobbie and choreographer
Randy Skinner may have been dreaming of
Irving Berlin's White Christmas for countless years, but now that the production is finally on Broadway, did it fulfill the critics' wildest dreams? Well, not quite.
The limited run holiday tuner opened last evening at the Great White Way's
Marquis Theatre. Based on the
classic 1954 film, the musical features
Irving Berlin's timeless score.
White Christmas stars
Stephen Bogardus,
Jeffry Denman,
Kerry O'Malley,
Meredith Patterson and
Melody Hollis.
Saying the show "makes for a bright evening,"
John Simon of Bloomberg appears to be alone among critics in getting caught up, at least a little, in the spirit of the season: "A problem with
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas is that it cannot quite make up its mind whether to cheekily parody the mildly idiotic movie, or sweetly swoon over its antique innocence.... You might think that great songs can salvage anything, but many of the songs here are lesser Berlin. Still, there are those marvelously evocative
Louizos sets and dazzlingly outrageous
Robbins costumes for us to feast on. And Skinner’s clever dances, which, with far more limited personnel, still manage to lustily evoke the grandeur of
Busby Berkeley and glory of Hermes Pan."
Complaining that "the orchestra sounds tinny and the production cries out for a smaller theater or a bigger chorus,"
Newsday's
Linda Winer provides the first of many a pan: "
White Christmas is a reasonable facsimile of what it's meant to be -- a manipulation of the sentimental holiday marketplace that does not disturb the seasonal equilibrium with a bubble of original thought.... [T]his is a straightforward, old-fashioned book-musical about a famous song-and-dance duo that falls for a couple of song-and-dance sisters while doing a good deed fora retired Army general whose Vermont inn is deep in debt. At Christmas."
Proclaiming that the show should "have an audience advisory -- for diabetics,"
USA Today's
Elysa Gardner gives two and a half out of four stars: "Adapting the screenplay,
David Ives and
Paul Blake have left no sentimental stone unturned.... What this stage version does not have, obviously, is the cast that made the original 'White Christmas' an enduring favorite. It's unfair to compare any singing actor to
Bing Crosby, but in this case, it's impossible not to. Stephen Bogardus brings undeniable grace and charm to the role of Bob Wallace, but he can't overcome the thinness of the libretto and the slickness of Walter Bobbie's direction."
Calling it "efficient but bland,"
The New York Times's
Charles Isherwood was not finding much cheer: "[Y]ou’d have to be in a desperately, even pathologically nostalgic mood -- trawling the Internet in the wee hours for VHS copies of
Lawrence Welk holiday specials, say -- to derive much joy from the stage retread of 'White Christmas,' a synthetically cozy trip down memory lane.... But the leading roles are really just place holders for star personalities, and none of the principals brings much in the way of wattage to their assignments. The romantic heat generated by both couples put together wouldn’t melt a snowflake."
Labeling the production as "a little creaky,"
Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's
Daily News awards three out of five stars in his surprisingly thin review: "But as a holiday entertainment, it's light and bright and boasts some great production numbers."
Concluding that the musical "is artificial enough to bring out the inner Scrooge in anyone,"
New York Post's
Frank Scheck ebeneezers with his two-star review: "[I]t's more than a little disappointing that the Broadway production of
Irving Berlin's White Christmas is so lacking in genuine Yuletide spirit.... [T]he book (by David Ives and Paul Blake) is lumbering and unamusing, and while the four stars -- Stephen Bogardus, Jeffry Denman, Kerry O'Malley and Meredith Patterson -- ably fulfill their singing and dancing requirements, they lack the outsize personalities necessary to make us care about their cardboard characters."
Charging that the show "coasts along on the strength of its melodious numbers and sparkling visuals,"
Variety's
David Rooney also offers a bah-humbug: "[T]his somewhat mechanical show feels like a road production staffed with mostly second-tier talent.... [T]he show makes little effort to fortify the movie's flimsy plot or disguise the contrived misunderstanding that fuels its central conflict.... Director Walter Bobbie's biggest hurdle is getting through the mummified book scenes, with their corny jokes. Aiding him, however, is that with 22 songs stuffed into two hours and change, it's never a long wait until the orchestra strikes up again, and the drippy dialogue gives way to polished -- if not quite dazzling -- vocals."
Will all this matter when New Yorkers and tourists alike are desperately seeking any kind of cheer, holiday or otherwise, this season? Perhaps not. With box office capacity in the mid 80 percentile, it may be some of the only green on Broadway this December.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Film, Irving Berlin, Jeffry Denman, Kerry O'Malley, Melody Hollis, Meredith Patterson, Musical, Randy Skinner, Stephen Bogardus, Walter Bobbie, White Christmas
Dreaming Of A (Great) White (Way Opening For) ChristmasAfter knocking around the country over the past four holiday seasons,
Irving Berlin's White Christmas opens on the aptly named Great White Way at the
Marquis Theatre.
Directed by
Walter Bobbie and brilliantly choreographed by
Randy Skinner, this recreation of the
classic 1954 film has as its star the legendary score by
Irving Berlin. (Never mind that the actual tune, "White Christmas" -- the all-time, best-selling single through 1997 -- was originally heard in the earlier, similarly themed
Bing Crosby flick "
Holiday Inn" from 1942.)
The production features
Stephen Bogardus as Bob Wallace and
Jeffry Denman as Phil Davis, along with
Kerry O'Malley and
Meredith Patterson as sisters Betty and Judy Haynes, and the adorably precocious
Melody Hollis as Susan Waverly. When
I saw the touring production two years ago in St. Paul, all but Patterson were in the cast.
And speaking of my experience, I can't help but wonder if critics will be dreaming of the same red marks
I lodged at the time. Find out tomorrow as I provide my critics' capsule.
The limited run of
Irving Berlin's White Christmas is scheduled through January 4, 2009.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Film, Irving Berlin, Jeffry Denman, Kerry O'Malley, Melody Hollis, Meredith Patterson, Musical, Opening Night, Randy Skinner, Stephen Bogardus, Walter Bobbie, White Christmas
