Review: Ageless 'White Christmas' warms hearts

If you're a fan of the Griswolds, Scrooge, the Grinch or Ralphie, or if you shed a tear or two when Clarence finally earns his angel wings high above Bedford Falls, there’s another timeless holiday classic that spreads heaping doses of Yuletide cheer.

Never mind the December heat wave: There’s no business like snow business in Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, presented by Rochester Broadway Theatre League. Awash with sentiment and an explosion of song and high-energy hoofing, the musical revival is a 2½-hour treat for young and old during its short run at the Auditorium Theatre through Dec. 20.

In the mix is plenty of vaudeville glitz, corny humor, schmaltzy romance, the quiet dignity of former brothers-in-arms, and a slew of hummable songs—from “Happy Holiday,” “Snow” and “White Christmas” to “How Deep is the Ocean” and “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.”

Adapted from the 1954 movie starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, it’s the story of two ex-Army performers, Bob Wallace (Sean Montgomery) and Phil Davis (Jeremy Benton) who team up with sister act Betty (Kerry Conte) and Judy (Kelly Sheehan) Haynes to save a destitute Vermont ski lodge of their former commanding officer, Gen. Waverly (Conrad John Schuck). The showmen hatch a plan to throw a Broadway-scale show on Christmas Eve and recruit pals from their old division to fill the seats.

Old-world charm sets the stage in the scenic designs by Anna Louizos that shift from the Ed Sullivan Show to a train car, a not-too-classy nightclub, the lobby of the Columbia Inn and a backyard barn rehearsal hall.

With lots of theatrical fairy dust, Montgomery and Benton are particularly well suited to fill the shoes of the cynical Bob Wallace (Crosby in the movie) and the impulsive Phil Davis (Kaye).

Montgomery displays a Golden Age appeal, and his booming, leading-man voice soars in every number. He saves his best for a heartfelt duo with Conte in “Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)” and a jazzy rendition of “Blue Skies.” Alternately, Conte plays on her character’s fragile vulnerability and is absolutely superb in her mournful, haunting rendition of “Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me.”

As for the dance team of Benton and Sheehan (Phil and Judy), they have all the elements of Astaire and Rogers. They make their complicated choreographed routines seem effortless in “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing” and the showstopping tap sequence, “I Love a Piano.”

This production is a fond welcome back to veteran Broadway actor Conrad John Schuck (McMillan & Wife, Law & Order), who leaves behind his Daddy Warbucks Annie fame to portray a gruff yet kindhearted general-turned-innkeeper. Keeping him in line is the inn’s busybody concierge, a loud and abrasive Pamela Myers as Martha Watson, who is seemingly joined at the hip by the simply adorable Samantha Penny (Elizabeth Crawford) as the general’s granddaughter.

Ageless in spirit, White Christmas is like pulling a thick down comforter up to your chin on a snowy night — warm and irresistible.

Marcia Morphy is a Rochester-area freelancer covering the arts.