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Oakland Tribune
Dreaming of a 'White Christmas' premieres in S.F.
Thursday, November 04, 2004 -
SOMEBODY once said you couldn't have a holiday without Irving Berlin's permission.
The man with a song for every occasion -- "Easter Parade," "God Bless America," "Heat Wave" -- is probably most famous for conjuring up Yuletide images of treetops glistening, sleigh bells in the snow and days that are merry and bright.
"White Christmas," written in 1941, is Berlin's holiday card to the world in perpetuity. Although written for the 1941 movie "Holiday Inn," the song is best remembered from the 1954 remake that shares its name and is sung by Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen (dubbed by Trudy Stevens) standing around a Christmas tree in Santa suits while snow falls gently behind them.
Fifty years after that movie began its life as a beloved holiday perennial, a new chapter in the remarkable history of "White Christmas" has begun in the Bay Area.
Following the current Broadway trend of turning movies into stage musicals, "White Christmas" began previews Wednesday and has its world premiere Tuesday on the stage of San Francisco's Curran Theatre. If all goes well, "White Christmas" might become an annual holiday alternative to a raft of "Christmas Carols" and "Nutcrackers."
Walter Bobbie, who guided the revival of "Chicago" to mega-hit status on Broadway, is directing the show.
"I've always been a great, great Irving Berlin fan," Bobbie says. "And I'm a Christmas nut. The opportunity to develop a 'new' Berlin musical was just too good to pass up."
A stage version of "White Christmas" first appeared in St. Louis four years ago. With the blessing of the Berlin estate, Bobbie built on that version and enlisted the help of playwright David Ives to help further shape the movie into a stage musical.
"David has made a wonderful compression of a rather rambling story," Bobbie says. "On your couch at Christmas, the movie's structure is fine. On stage, there are issues you need to address. It starts three times, and the first section is in a war zone with bombs and crashing buildings and people injured. You can't start a Broadway musical like that."
The movie "White Christmas" is the story of two World War II buddies -- played by Crosby and Kaye -- who become famous song-and-dance men after the war. With the help of two dazzling, devoted sisters -- Clooney and Vera-Ellen -- they come to the aid of their general (Dean Jagger), whose Pine Tree, Vt. ski lodge is about to go belly-up for lack of snow.
Of course, the solution to saving the inn is to put on a lavish, Broadway-size show. And while they're at it, the gang reunites all the members of the 151st Division to make the old general feel like a hero again.
"What's interesting about this story is that there are no villains," Bobbie says. "These are all good, well-intentioned people who have some serious misunderstandings. And then, like every great Christmas story, it ends with the spirit of giving and by demonstrating how generosity brings out the best in all of us -- or is supposed to."
Brian D'Arcy James, playing the Crosby role on stage, says that in rehearsals, Bobbie has talked a lot about "elevating the human spirit" with this show.
"It can sound clichd when you talk about things like this, but a good holiday show shows us who we are when we're functioning the best we can as human beings," James says. "If you can strike a powerful chord and not be sappy, that is really powerful stuff."
Regardless whether the movie makes a smooth transition to the stage, there's always that glorious Berlin music.
Most of the songs from the movie remain, including of course the title song plus "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing," "Sisters" and "Count Your Blessings."
Bobbie, working with Ives, musical director Rob Berman and choreographer Randy Skinner, have added other Berlin songs such as "Blue Skies" (which is technically in the movie, but only for a second), "I Love a Piano," "Love and the Weather" and "Happy Holidays."
For James, who just recorded "White Christmas" for his "From Christmas Eve to Christmas Morn" CD, the opportunity to sing Berlin songs was a chief appeal of joining the "White Christmas" cast.
"Berlin's melodies are universal, undeniable," he says. "We have a chemical-positive reaction to them. And then there's the structure: His songs are incredibly well built and they're deceptively simple. There's a power to these songs, and in the context of a story, they're brilliant, beautiful little vignettes of the human condition."
One song from the movie that's not in the show is "Gee, I Wish I Was Back in the Army."
"I was sensitive about timing," director Bobbie says. "I don't want this show to be making statements about war or to seem opportunistic or jingoistic. But now I find myself thinking this story is good for this moment in time because it's about the human aspect of war -- about the bond between soldiers and how crisis can bring people together and bond them for the rest of their lives."
Producers are testing the "White Christmas" waters this year in the Bay Area to determine the future of the show.
It's an expensive gamble. Bobbie says the budget is between $5 million and $6 million. There's a 24-piece orchestra, a cast of 30 (including Berkeley's Charles Dean as the general), abundant scenery and hundreds of costumes.
"I guess we have a big dream here," Bobbie says. "Maybe the show will become a holiday staple in various cities. Or maybe we'll head for Broadway. If you see it in a theater next summer, we'll know we had more than a seasonal musical comedy on our hands. My guess, though, is that it's seasonal."
As for James, who'll be singing "White Christmas" in the falling snow eight times a week until Dec. 26, there's no chance that his Christmas will be anything but white. But what about overloading on a veritable blizzard of holiday sentiment?
"Burn out on Christmas?" he says. "The thought never entered my mind."
You can e-mail Chad Jones at cjones@angnewspapers.com or call (925) 416-4853.
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