Music and Lyrics: Irving Berlin
Based on Paramount Pictures Film written for screen by Norman Krasna, Norman Panama and Melvin Frank
Director: Jonathan O’Boyle
White Christmas is an unashamedly sentimental, and potentially dated, show, so it has to be taken on its own terms, which is exactly what Jonathan O’Boyle does in this production featuring 14 pretty talented performers.
It tells the story, of course, of two American servicemen who discover, around Christmas 1944, that they can sing and entertain others. Fast forward 10 years, and they’re a well-established duo featuring on the Ed Sullivan Show. The flimsy and gentle plot which follows takes them to a failing hotel in Vermont, which, by coincidence, is owned by their old General. The idea is to stage a show in his barn, which eventually they do, having meanwhile taken up with a pair of sisters with whom the path of true love wavers a bit, but, obviously, there’s a “happily ever after” ending because that’s part of the cheesiness. There is nothing remotely hard-hitting about White Christmas.
Nonetheless, it’s an energetic production full of impressive tap dancing (impressive choreography by Gary Lloyd) and smiling ensemble numbers danced by supple folk who can repeatedly shoot a leg almost to 180 degrees in their pretty, coordinating costumes designed by Natalie Titchener.
Because this is a show about staging a show, there’s plenty of scope for set pieces. I Love The Piano, developed and orchestrated for this production by MD Jae Alexander, which opens Act 2, is a good example of how this helps to drive the piece – and it’s fun. Another instance, in a different mood, is Gabriella Williams as Betty singing (very well indeed) in a nightclub.
The seven-piece band, which is out of sight in another room, purrs along (exceptionally good bass playing by Matt Hollick) sounding, at times, so vibrant that it could be an orchestra of 20 players, and this is largely down to Jae Alexander’s skilled arrangements.
This mildly soporific show is an ideal Christmas choice for the Mill at Sonning.
Runs until 25 January 2025
The Reviews Hub Score
Gently entertaining
