'White Christmas' at Westchester Broadway Theatre - My Review

The Westchester Broadway Theatre is presenting their 182nd production in Elmsford NY. I have only seen three of those productions, but the holiday jewel of Irving Berlin's White Christmas The Musical is the best one I have ever seen at this unique dinner theatre.

As my son and I got off the expressway in Elmsford, a snow squall started to fall; as we made our way into the theatre lobby, we wondered if the WBT had somehow arranged the perfectly appropriate weather. We had an excellent table and complimentary tickets for the show. The house was packed with the Saturday night crowd that had come to enjoy dinner and show and enjoy it they did.

White Christmas is based on the 1954 classic Paramount Pictures film. It is the sentimental story set in the 1940s of two successful showmen Bob Wallace and Phil Davis who join forces to help out their old army commander General Henry Waverly. While they do this, "they find, lose, and find romance, have plenty of laughs and demonstrate what it means to be loyal," writes Pia Haas. I did not know that the original version of the title song satirized a citizen of Los Angeles who longs for snow in the face of west coast weather. Mr. Berlin modified the verse but kept the classic chorus.

I am always impressed with the production values of the musicals at this venue, but White Christmas raises the bar a few notches. I had seen the sumptuous costumes designed by Derek Lockwood in publicity photos and they were even more beautiful onstage. Steve Loftus designed wonderful set pieces that are lit to perfection by Andrew Gmoser. There were snowflake and ornament shapes and of course falling snow. I loved the train that the cast rode on for the song "Snow." The excellent pit musicians were conducted by Musical Director Andrew Smithson.

The considerable choreography in the film was created by Bob Fosse, although he was uncredited. The WBT production was directed and choreographed by Randy Skinner, who also directed/choreographed the WBT production of 42nd Street. Mr. Skinner served as choreographer for the Broadway production of the White Christmas  that opened in Nov. 2008. It received two Tony Award nominations in 2009, one for Best Choreography (Randy Skinner.)

So my expectations were high for the dance production numbers and I (along with the rest of the audience) was thrilled with every one of them. The members of the ensemble were high power dancers who pulled off the Fosse inspired routines, and the leads did just as well. "Blue Skies" closed the first act with a bang and the black and white tap dancing of "I Love a Piano" opened the second act just as joyfully. You might think that the production number of the title song is the end of the show, but the finale is actually "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm." All of them are top notch; Mr. Skinner's staging was both smart for this space and effective.

Click here to watch a video of many of the dance numbers.

The Equity members of the cast were all outstanding in their roles. Sean Montgomery (in his WBT debut) played Wallace while Jeremy Benton played Davis; both had marvelously clear voices and could dance like a pro. Jamie Ross was the loveable General. As the Haynes sisters, Lindsie VanWinkle and Keely Sheehan (in her WBT debut) were amazing dancers and singers. The members of the ensemble stepped up to cover the smaller roles.

Karen Murphy played the role of Martha Watson. This actress is just off the national tour of Mary Poppins and has appeared in many musicals on Broadway. She was the perfect Martha, both bossy and loveable. She also sported the best wig designed by Gerard Kelly.

The role of the youngest member of the cast, Susan Waverly, is shared by two young actresses, Nicole Kolitsas and Julia White. Ms. Kolitsas makes her  WBT debut in White Christmas. She was last seen as Jojo with John Tartaglia as the Cat in the Hat in 12-14 Foundation's production of Seussical. I got to see her as Tessie in Annie at Seven Angels in Waterbury.