By Pat Robbennolt / Chronicle contributor
Veterans Day weekend, I watched a USO show on stage at the Playhouse! You will want to arrive 15 minutes early for White Christmas. There is a “pre-show.” A group of Playhouse volunteers uniformed to represent the various branches of service is on stage before and during the show. As part of the pre-show, Carol Irvin drew tears to my eyes as she sang “I’ll Never Smile Again.” The songs took me back to the days when I was far younger! Jack Irvin gifted us with “I’ll Be Seeing You in All the Old Familiar Places.” Jack Irvin and Carol Irvin blended their remarkable voices on “White Cliffs of Dover.” Carol Irvin, joined by the ensemble and the audience, capped off the pre-show with a Kate Smith-like singing of “God Bless America.”
White Christmas is based on the 1954 film. It is definitely a period piece. The film was a high-energy musical starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen. This production of “White Christmas” invites us to step back in time to the holiday season of 1954. We hear again some of the very sing able music of that era. I’ve found myself humming the songs ever since!
It is a time when many former soldiers and sailors (especially actors) are unemployed. We meet actor buddies Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, played by Ben Crawford and Britt Hancock. They serve together during World War II and meet again ten years later at the "Ed Sullivan Show."
We welcome Crawford back to the Playhouse. While it is hard not to expect Bing Crosby in this role, Crawford moves with grace and ease that is a joy to watch. Whether he sings “Love and Weather," “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep” or “The Old Man,” his voice has a uniquely fine timbre.
Seeing Britt Hancock on the stage over the years has allowed those of us who are Playhouse denizens an opportunity to see unbelievable development in his skill as actor, dancer and vocalist. Opening night, his portrayal of Phil focused on the audience. As the show continues he will allow himself become more a part of the ensemble. Susan Grady beautifully plays a restrained Judy Haynes in early scenes with Hancock. The subtle development of their relationship and the emergence of Judy is quite lovely.
Weslie Webster is her out-going best as Judy’s sister Betty Haynes. Their rendition of “Sisters” is a delight. Webster glows as her character moves through backstage at a none-too-classy nightspot to a Vermont barn, to the Regency Room in New York and back to the barn. Each venue calls for her, and for Crawford, to present their characters differently. Their fine voices, skillful action and movement carry us from place to place.
Crawford, Hancock, Webster and Grady end up in a Vermont Inn for the holidays. Who should be the owner of the Inn but General Waverly, played by Dick Disseler. This is really not a play about Christmas. It is a play about relationships. The two soldiers have served under the general. He gave the orders and they followed them. Disseler plays an old, occasionally confused innkeeper who wishes he were still in charge of a battalion but cannot keep the finances of the inn straight. Disseler portrays a depth of emotion as his former battalion gathers.
The stand-out in this show is Andrea McCullough as Martha Watson. McCullough brings a long list of credits to her appearance as the gravely voiced, agile housekeeper protecting the general from himself and his creditors. Seventh-graders Blythe Graham and Brianna Hoyt alternate in the demanding role of Susan as she relates to Disseler as her grandfather, to McCullough and the troupe that gathers at the Inn during her holiday vacation.
There is a fine ensemble cast of singers and dancers. Leila Nelson, Chelsea Nye, Courtney Romano, Molly Cerne, Chelsea Whitelock, Craig Blake, John Henderson, Drew Stark, Chad Riter and R.J. Livingston bring energy and expertise to the many and varied dance numbers. Michele Colvin has again choreographed a fine show. Musical director Ron Murphy conducts an 11-piece orchestra whose sound was well modulated to the action.
Thanks, Abigail Crabtree, for bringing us nostalgia, memory, and for many a bit of history. You have brought a huge cast together into a holiday gift for us all.
