White Christmas continues at the Dominion Theatre, London until 4 January 2020.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
It isn’t difficult getting into the Christmas spirit at the Dominion Theatre with the giant foyer and the twin staircase bedecked with sparkling decorations and a female trio of singers spreading their message of goodwill, harmonised in Big Band style.
The opening of the show is no less arresting, a re-enactment of the attack on Pearl Harbour with President Roosevelt declaring war on the Japanese enemy in a radio broadcast. It is like a frieze coming to life, the action in slow motion, as pyrotechnics explode and lightning flashes, putting the sound and lighting departments through their paces.
Thereafter we move forward eight years, and settle down to a slight tale of an American General, played by Michael Brandon, who has fallen on hard times because his New England ski resort is without snow.
Two of his former servicemen come to the rescue, now as a song and dance team (Danny Mac and Dan Burton) in the company of showgirls, Danielle Hope and Clare Halse. They stage a Christmas benefit for the General, it draws the crowds, and the snow falls prettily from the rafters of the Dominion.
White Christmas may be a bit of an antique concept today, but there’s no doubt that it’s staged and performed in this production from the Curve Leicester with a flair and enthusiasm that constantly dazzles the eye, while the ear is beguiled by Irving Berlin’s songs, drawn from several sources.
These are idiomatically sung and backed by a small but versatile band cleverly employed at various points on stage, notably on split levels at the opening of Act II. Neil MacDonald, leading from keyboard, is clearly having a ball. Excellent sound balance too.
The gorgeous costume design by Diego Pitarch epitomises the era’s fondness for colour, in both formal and casual wear, with sets to match by Michael Taylor. Direction (Nikolai Foster)
and choreography meld seamlessly together, of which there’s no better example than the staging of the ensemble ‘Snow’ with the train passengers all agog at the prospect of snow in Vermont, gigging up and down to the rhythm of the song.
Stephen Mear’s stunning choreography embraces Broadway and balletic styles. In one scene we have the chorus girls, in close harmony, tapping away on a white Steinway to ‘I Love a Piano’, then in another Danny Mac gliding across the stage perched on a ladder singing ‘Blue Skies’. Best of all is Dan Burton and Clare Halse singing and dancing to the charming ‘The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing’, beguilingly staged and set in a planetary world.
Burton, who throughout gives us some enjoyable hoofing, and Halse, who like her partner, effortlessly moves from gracefully slow to electrically fast, make a most agreeable pairing. Their bouncy pop duet ‘Love and the Weather’ is something of a find as is ‘Falling Out Of Love Can Be Fun’, an all-girls trio for Halse, Hope and Brenda Edwards, which they dispatch with great panache.
Danny Mac’s ‘White Christmas’, the tune emerging from a music box, is all the more welcome for his restraint in this number. With Hope he shares the sentimental ‘Count Your Blessings’, to a guitar accompaniment, another ballad that gains from a restrained musical setting. His singing voice is now something to be reckoned with. Hope gives full measure to ‘Love You Didn’t Do Right By Me’, a song in the big band tradition, where her dramatic interpretation is exceptional and most moving. Hers can stand alongside that of Rosemary Clooney in the Paramount film (1954) on which this show is based. The two girls and later the two guys, blue feather boas awaft, make a perfect match in ‘Sisters’.
Brenda Edwards has her moment belting out ‘Let Me Sing and I’m Happy’, her warmth and sincerity adorning her scenes with the General and little Freya Yates as Susan.
And that warmth and sincerity is manifest throughout this production of White Christmas, where old-fashioned entertainment though it may be, is clearly one this company believe in.
Adrian Edwards
Tickets for White Christmas are available HERE.
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