IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS Returns To Broadway, Previews Begin At The Marquis Theatre 11/13

The Tony Award® nominated hit musical Irving Berlin'S WHITE CHRISTMAS, the new stage reinvention of the beloved classic film, returns to Broadway at the Marquis Theatre this holiday season for 61 performances only - guaranteeing New York a white Christmas!

Previews will begin Friday, November 13, 2009 for a limited engagement through Sunday, January 3, 2010. Casting and schedule information will be announced shortly.

Tickets will go on sale Saturday, September 12 and will be available by calling Ticketmaster at 877-250-2929 / 212-307-4100 or visiting www.ticketmaster.com. For group sales details and pricing call The Group Sales Box Office at 800-223-7565 or visit www.bestofbroadway.com.

Irving Berlin'S WHITE CHRISTMAS is produced by Kevin McCollum, John Gore, Tom McGrath, Paul Blake, The Producing Office, Dan Markley, Sonny Everett and Broadway Across America in association with Paramount Pictures.

Every holiday season, audiences of all ages enjoy the uplifting story of White Christmas. Now, the Tony Award® nominated Broadway musical Irving Berlin'S WHITE CHRISTMAS has become New York's newest holiday tradition.

The musical tells the story of two showbiz buddies who put on a show in a picturesque Vermont inn, and find their perfect mates in the bargain. Full of dancing, laughter and some of the greatest songs ever written, Irving Berlin'S WHITE CHRISTMAS is a merry and bright theatrical experience for the entire family.

Irving Berlin'S WHITE CHRISTMAS made its celebrated Broadway debut at the Marquis Theatre last season following acclaimed productions around the country. The New York critics stuffed the lavish musical's stocking full of praise!

Irving Berlin'S WHITE CHRISTMAS is directed by Tony Award® winner and three-time nominee Walter Bobbie (Chicago, Footloose, A Grand Night for Singing), with a book by David Ives (Is He Dead?) and Paul Blake and choreography by three-time Tony Award® nominee Randy Skinner (Irving Berlin's White Christmas, 42nd Street, Ain't Broadway Grand).

Set design is by Tony Award® nominee Anna Louizos (In the Heights, Avenue Q), costumes by Tony Award® nominee Carrie Robbins (Grease!, Over Here), lighting design by Tony Award® winner Ken Billington (Chicago, The Drowsy Chaperone, Annie), sound design by Tony Award® nominee Acme Sound Partners (In the Heights, Spamalot), orchestrations by Tony Award® nominee Larry Blank (Irving Berlin's White Christmas and The Drowsy Chaperone), vocal and dance arrangements by Bruce Pomahac, music supervision by Rob Berman, and casting by Jay Binder C.S.A. The stage production is based on the Paramount Pictures film, written for the screen by Norman Krasna, Norman Panama, and Melvin Frank.

Many Irving Berlin classics are showcased in the new production, including "Count Your Blessings," "Sisters," "How Deep is the Ocean" and the unforgettable title song, "White Christmas."

This production of Irving Berlin'S WHITE CHRISTMAS will also embark on a national tour this holiday season, bringing the spirit of love, charity, and song to Omaha, Nebraska; Cincinnati, Ohio; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; East Lansing, Michigan; St. Louis, Missouri; Louisville, Kentucky and Kansas City, Missouri for all to enjoy. For tour information visit www.whitechristmathemusical.com.

Irving Berlin'S WHITE CHRISTMAS made its world premiere stage debut during the 2004 holiday season in San Francisco at the Curran Theater, garnering rave reviews and establishing its status as a don't-miss holiday show. 

Irving Berlin (Music & Lyrics). Born Israel Beilin in a Russian Jewish shtetl in 1888, he died as Irving Berlin in his adopted homeland of New York, New York, USA, in 1989. Songwriter, performer, theatre owner, music publisher and soldier, he definEd Jerome Kern's famous maxim: "Irving Berlin has no place in American music. He is American music." Berlin wrote over 1200 songs, including "White Christmas," "Easter Parade," "Always," "Blue Skies," "Cheek to Cheek," "There's No Business Like Show Business," "Alexander's Ragtime Band," and "God Bless America." He wrote the scores to more than a dozen Broadway musicals, including Annie Get Your Gun, and provided songs for dozens of Hollywood movie musicals. An unabashed patriot, his love for -- and generosity to -- his country is legendary, and through several of his ongoing foundations, including The God Bless America Fund, he donated millions of dollars in royalties to Army Emergency Relief, the Boy and Girl Scouts and other organizations. Among his many awards and accolades were the Academy Award® for "White Christmas," a CongressionAl Gold Medal, a special Tony Award® and commemoration on a U.S. postage stamp.

David Ives (Book) is probably best known for his evenings of one-act comedies, All In The Timing and Time Flies. Most recent sightings: Mark Twain's Is He Dead? on Broadway and New Jerusalem at Classic Stage Company. Next season his play Venus in Fur will premiere at CSC (Walter Bobbie directing) and his adaptation of Corneille's The Liar at the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington. He has adapted 25 musicals for City Center Encores! series with three more to come this season, and has written three young-adult novels, most recently Voss.

Paul Blake (Book and co-producer) is currently enjoying his 21st season as the executive producer of The Muny in St. Louis, where he produced, directed and wrote the world premieres of Sleeping Beauty with songs by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and P.G. Wodehouse, Roman Holiday with songs by Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Among the many popular performers in the more than 100 shows Mr. Blake has produced and/or directed at The Muny are audience favorites such as Howard Keel, Tommy Tune, Van Johnson, Michael Feinstein, Phyllis Diller, Adolph Green, Gretchen Wyler, Captain Kangaroo and The Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. He has produced national tours of Words and Music with the late Sammy Cahn, An Evening with Jerry Herman starring Jerry Herman, She Loves Me with Pam Dawber and Joel Higgins, and The King and I with Shirley Jones. His regional work includes the award-winning Diamond Lil for San Francisco's A.C.T., as well as Barefoot in the Park starring Shaun Cassidy and Julia Duffy and Mass Appeal with John Travolta and Charles Durning. Mr. Blake's production of Roman Holiday will commence its commercial life in England in 2010.

Walter Bobbie (Director) is a three-time Tony Award® nominee and his production of Irving Berlin's White Christmas has become a holiday favorite across the U.S. and the UK. His direction of the international hit Chicago won him the Tony®, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards, and has become the longest-running revival in Broadway history. Recent New York productions include Evan Smith's The Savannah Disputation at Playwrights Horizons; Christopher Durang's The Marriage of Bette & Boo at the Roundabout; No, No, Nanette at Encores!; and David Ives's New Jerusalem at Classic Stage. Other Broadway credits include High Fidelity, Sweet Charity starring Christina Applegate, Twentieth Century starring Alec Baldwin and Anne Heche, Footlooose for which he also co-authored the book, and A Grand Night for Singing. He has directed for the New York Shakespeare Festival, Manhattan Theatre Club, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Sundance, the O'Neill Centerand Goodspeed Opera House. Mr. Bobbie was Artistic Director of City Center's acclaimed Encores! series and continues as an Artistic Associate. He serves on the Executive Board of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Randy Skinner (Choreographer) received Tony® and Drama Desk Award nominations for his work on Irving Berlin's White Christmas. Other shows include: 42nd Street (Tony®, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, Astaire Award nominations); State Fair (Outer Critics nomination); Ain't Broadway Grand (Tony®, Outer Critics nominations); After the Night and the Music (MTC/Biltmore); Do Re Mi; Of Thee I Sing; Face the Music and No, No, Nanette (the last four for City Center Encores!); Lone Star Love (Lucille Lortel Award nomination); Broadway Three Generations (Kennedy Center); Stormy Weather (with Leslie Uggams); An American in Paris (The Alley Theatre). In Los Angeles: Happy Days; Hello, Dolly! (with Nell Carter); Pal Joey (with Dixie Carter, Elaine Stritch); Strike Up the Band (with Tom Bosley). He has received the Los Angeles Drama Critics, Los Angeles Dramalogue, Bay Area Critics, Connecticut Critics, and Cleveland Times Theatre Awards.

Rob Berman (Musical Supervisor) has been the music supervisor for Irving Berlin's White Christmas since its premiere in San Francisco in 2004. He is the music director of City Center's Encores! series where he has conducted Stairway to Paradise, Damn Yankees, Music in the Air, and Finian's Rainbow, which he will be conducting again on Broadway this fall. Other Broadway credits include The Pajama Game starring Harry Connick, Jr. and the revivals of Wonderful Town and The Apple Tree. Rob won a Helen Hayes Award for his music direction of the Kennedy Center's production of Sunday in the Park with George. He is also music director of the Kennedy Center Honors Orchestra (Emmy nominee).

For More Information Visit - www.whitechristmasbroadway.com

Photo by Peter James Zielinski