“Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” is a sparkling holiday entertainment

Paper Mill Playhouse hits the midpoint of its 2024-2025 season with Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, last seen at Paper Mill in 2011. It’s a glittery, wintery wonderland of a show, showcasing Berlin’s catalogue of songs across the decades like so many baubles hung on a holiday tree.

The show’s book by David Ives and Paul Blake is based on the 1954 movie with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen. It tells the tale of two Army buddies, Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, who team up to become Broadway stars after World War II. They plan to go to Florida in December for a working vacation, after seeing the nightclub act of Betty and Judy Haynes, sisters of another Army buddy.

The Haynes sisters are booked to appear at a Vermont inn, so Phil finagles Bob into going to Vermont, hoping to get Bob’s mind off work and onto romance. But the inn, owned by the boys’ old Army general, Henry Waverly, is running in the red: there’s a heat wave in Vermont, so no snow and no customers. The boys come up with a solution: with only two weeks available, they’ll bring their cast and crew up to Vermont and try out their new show at the inn for the holidays.

The cast is delightful. Max Clayton as Bob and Casey Garvin as Phil make the roles their own while playing off the memories of their movie predecessors. The same can be said of Ashley Blanchet as Betty and Keely Beirne as Judy. (Blanchet played Betty in the 2013 production at Bucks County Playhouse.) While the four are expressive singers and dancers, I feel that Garvin and Beirne do better in their dance numbers while Clayton and Blanchet come off better when singing. The always-enjoyable Lance Roberts and Stacia Fernandez strike comic sparks as the General and his concierge-receptionist-housekeeper Martha, a former Broadway performer and world-class snoop. 

In smaller parts, Lamont Brown’s hyper stage manager and Buzz Roddy as a laconic handyman handle some corny running gags as if they were freshly-minted comedic gold. Savannah Austin, playing the General’s granddaughter Susan (at the performance I attended), is just a little bit too smart for her age but doesn’t overplay it. And Larkin Reilly and Sabrina Brush as Rita and Rhoda, two over-the-top chorines in pursuit of Phil, are comically vulgar, double-entendre delights.

Director Mark S. Hoebee, Producing Artistic Director of Paper Mill, keeps the action moving smoothly. Kristyn Pope, recreating the original choreography of Randy Skinner, puts the exuberant ensemble through their paces whether it’s in hot, jazzy taps, smoother ballroom numbers, or cabaret routines. Conductor Cynthia Meng leads a good-sized orchestra through hits from the Irving Berlin songbook, matching the musical accompaniment to the on-stage moods.

As for that Berlin songbook, it’s chock-full of memorable tunes. Blanchet shows a sophisticated side of Judy with “Love, You Didn’t Do Right by Me”, a torch song that is paired with Clayton’s longingly sung “How Deep Is the Ocean?” as a counterpoint. Fernandez belts out “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy,” and scores with Blanchet and Beirne in the comic “Falling Out of Love Can Be Fun.” Blanchet and Beirne also score with “Sisters,” comically reprised by Clayton and Garvin. Clayton and Blanchet also score  with the tender “Count Your Blessings,” showing the emotional frost between them start to thaw.

Garvin and Beirne have their dancing showcased in the smooth, romantic “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing” and the lively act 2 tap opener, “I Love a Piano.” And the entire cast invites the audience to join in at the end with “White Christmas” — then tops it with a lively post-curtain call rendition of “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.”

All in all, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas is pleasant and heartwarming. It’s not the greatest show ever, but it does showcase 17 of Berlin’s songs — and let’s face it, hearing and seeing them performed are the main reasons to see the show. The talented cast makes those songs shine like snowflakes atop a grove of Christmas trees. For a holiday treat, you won’t go wrong spending time with Irving Berlin’s White Christmas!

Irving Berlin’s White Christmas is presented by the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn through Dec. 29, 2024. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 973-376-4343 or go to papermill.org.