BWW Blog: A Very Broadway Christmas

This holiday season, there isn't much to do outside of our homes (and not much you SHOULD do) - and many of us are accepting that this year's festivities are going to be a little different. However, that doesn't mean that we can't make the best of it all at home. For me, this season is a great time to revisit some holiday classics and some soon-to-be holiday favorites that feature some of our favorite Broadway stars. In this article I'll be sharing some of my favorite Christmas staples, as well as a few new programs I'll be sure to check out this year.

First up - a not-too popular, personal favorite Christmas movie of mine; Eloise at Christmastime. This movie came out in 2003 and starred Broadway favorites Julie Andrews and Gavin Creel. In my opinion, this movie is perfect; It has New York Christmas magic, romance, music, and of course, the precocious little Eloise. This movie is easily found on YouTube for free, and in my opinion is a must watch for the season. (You won't want to miss Gavin Creel singing Gypsy!)

Another Christmas classic is the 1954 musical film White Christmas, starring Vera Ellen, Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. While these actors are mostly known for their work on the silver screen, White Christmas was in 2004 adapted to the stage - making it a holiday classic in our world as well. Since we can't see any productions of this show this year, the next best thing is cozying up for this classic heartwarming movie.

A similar story of golden age Christmas - Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn. While the 1942 film is wonderful, there is nothing more fun and festive to watch than the recent Broadway revival (streaming on BroadwayHD!). This stage adaptation stars two of my favorite Broadway actors, Bryce Pinkham and Corbin Bleu, and brings new color and life to the classic story.

Moving on to a very particular Christmas art-from - Hallmark Movies. The Hallmark channel is no stranger to original love stories, many of which center around the holidays. This year there are two main additions to this lineup, one of which being a film called Holly and Ivy which stars Broadway hunk Jeremy Jordan. This movie has already been released for the season (on November 1st), so you can catch it playing on the Hallmark channel throughout this month. The other main addition this year is A Royal Holiday, starring Cinderella's Laura Osnes and Victoria Clark, as well as Moulin Rouge's Aaron Tviet. They bring you the story of a prince visiting a small town at Christmas who falls in love with a hometown girl (cheesy, but that's to be expected.) Other notable Broadway-Hallmark collaborations include Kristin Chenoweth in her "A Christmas Love Story", as well as Laura Osnes in "A Homecoming for the Holidays". While all these movies have already premiered, they'll be playing all month long on the Hallmark channel - on whose website all schedule information is available.

Personally, I'm looking forward to a holiday season indoors; there's nothing I love more than watching Christmas movies with my family by the fire. We'll definitely be checking out some of these programs, and I hope this list was helpful to you too!