Irving Berlin's White Christmas Tickets

?ABOUT WHITE CHRISTMAS

Based on the Paramount Pictures 1954 film of the same name, starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, White Christmas is a stage musical with a  book by David Ives and Paul Blake, and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. It premiered in St Louis on July 17, 2000, before moving to San Francisco in 2004 and opening on Broadway in 2008. It has toured nationally and internationally and has enjoyed runs in Australia and on the West End. It received two 2009 Tony Award nominations for Best Choreography (Randy Skinner) and Best Orchestrations (Larry Blank). It also received 2009 Drama Desk Award nominations for Walter Bobbie, Outstanding Director of a Musical, Outstanding Choreography, Outstanding Orchestrations, Outstanding Set Design of a Musical (Anna Louizos), Outstanding Costume Design (Carrie Robbins), and Outstanding Sound Design (Acme Sound Partners).

?SYNOPSIS

It’s Christmas Eve, 1944 and somewhere on the Western Front, army buddies Bob Wallace and Phil Davis are treating the other troops of the 151st Division to a holiday show, complete with a Christmas tree. As the evening comes to an end, Major General Henry Waverley arrives and holds his final field inspection before being relieved of command so that he can retire due to an injury.

A decade later, Wallace and Davis are no longer in the field, but are America’s best-loved song-and-dance duo, appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show to talk about their new production, Blues Skies, which is set to open in Florida on Christmas Eve. Backstage in the dressing room after their appearance, Davis tells Wallace of a letter from another army buddy of theirs encouraging them to see his sisters perform their new act. Wallace is unconvinced, but Davis is determined that what Wallace needs is to fall in love and that meeting the Haynes sisters could be just the ticket.

The duo audition the girls, who make quite the impression. It soon becomes clear that the letter wasn’t from their old friend at all, but actually from Judy, one of the sisters. That night, the boys are due to leave on the train for Florida, and Betty and Judy will make their way to Vermont for the holidays. While dancing with each other at the club, Davis and Judy hatch a scheme to get Wallace on the train to Vermont with them so that the four can spend some more time together. Once the train to Vermont is boarded, Wallace soon catches on that he’s been duped and the new friends begin to get excited about the snowy fun awaiting them all. However, when they arrive, things are not quite as expected; for starters, there’s no snow.

Arriving at the Columbia Inn, Wallace and Davis are amazed to discover that it is owned by none other than General Waverley. However, the situation for Waverley is dire – the lack of snow has meant few customers and the General is in danger of losing it. The inn is all he has, having invested all of his pension and savings into it, so the foursome becomes determined to find a way to help get business booming again.

Wallace and Davis are stuck with an idea to bring Blue Skies to the Columbia Inn. They invite all their Broadway cast to Vermont and add the Haynes sisters to the bill. The inn’s concierge, Martha, also gets added to the ensemble, having impressed the men with her performance skills.

As evening rolls around, the General’s daughter, Susan cannot sleep for crying due to a situation with her father – he attempted to rejoin the army, but was rejected and is now disillusioned and disheartened, feeling as though he no longer knows his place in the world. She unburdens herself to Wallace, who consoles her until she is able to sleep. Then, left alone, Wallace and Betty share a tender moment together.

Stirred by hearing the General’s plight from Susan, Wallace hatches a plan to make him feel appreciated once more. He decides to contact Ralph Sheldrake – a fellow army friend who now works at The Ed Sullivan Show – with a plot to send out letters to the men who used to serve under General Waverley, inviting them to the Columbia Inn for the holidays to surprise and pay their respects to the General. Sheldrake returns Wallace’s call to let him know that everything for the “secret plan” is in place, but is intercepted by Martha who mistakes him for a real estate mogul. She gets the wrong end of the stick and believes that the “secret plan” is for Wallace to convince the General to sell up. She quickly tells Betty of Wallace’s presumed intentions and Betty, upset and incredulous, confronts him. However, the two end up speaking at crossed purposes and Betty leaves the conversation none the wiser as to what is actually going on.

It’s dress rehearsal time, but all is not well at the Columbia Inn… Judy is secretly fuming at Davis’ flirtatious manner with the chorus girls and Betty is preparing to leave for New York, still angry at Wallace. Meanwhile, Susan is eager to impress the boys with an act for the show, but to no avail. The Haynes sisters are up but are nowhere to be found, so Wallace and Davis are forced to take their places in the rehearsal for their sister act. When Susan reveals to Wallace that Betty has left for New York, he immediately chases after her.

In the Regency Room in New York, Betty has a new spot and Wallace brings Sheldrake to see her perform. After the show, crossed wires are finally uncrossed when the two men have a chance to explain the truth of their “secret plan” to Betty, who decides to return to Vermont with Wallace. Taking the opportunity of being in New York, Wallace makes one final appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show to encourage men from the 151st Division to the Columbia Inn for the holidays.

Upon their return to Vermont, Betty and Wallace encounter a newly engaged Davis and Judy. They also discover that Susan now has an act in the show after all.

The night of the grand production, the General is tricked into wearing his old army uniform by Martha, who convinces him that all his suits are away to be laundered. As the performers prepare for the show backstage, Betty and Wallace share their feelings of love for each other. The General arrives at the barn to the greetings of his former division. A flawless show is performed and the four lovers and friends rejoice as the snow begins to fall.