Review: WHITE CHRISTMAS at Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre

Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre's production of WHITE CHRISTMAS brings the beloved Christmas tale to their stage in a fun and heartwarming way.

The show follows Bob Wallace (Jason Kimmel) and Phil Davis (Matthew J. Brightbill) as they go from the army to the stage as a successful duo. When the pair meets the Haynes sisters and travels north with them to an inn in Vermont, they discover their beloved General, Henry Waverly (Pete Clapsis), owns the inn. The only problem is, the inn is not doing so well. Bob and Phil make a plan to surprise the General, though the plan gets a bit lost in translation when Martha Watson (Bonner Church), the inn's fabulous and fierce receptionist, receives a message for them about it. At the same time, both of the men are becoming involved with a Haynes sister - Bob with Betty and Phil with Judy. It is a very sweet and sentimental story, and you can't help but be captivated by all of the flashy musical numbers as well.

Jason Kimmel and Matthew J. Brightbill are a fantastic pair as Bob and Phil, and I really enjoyed watching them perform together. They did a great job of showing the audience the growth of their characters through the show, and they are both incredibly talented singers and dancers. Betty Haynes is played by Katelyn Crall, and she is an absolutely magnificent performer. Her singing is beautiful, and her chemistry with Kimmel's Bob was excellent. She portrayed Betty's emotions perfectly. Her sisterly relationship with Judy Haynes (Sami Doherty) was enjoyable to watch as well. Sami Doherty did a great job reprising her role as Judy Haynes, which she has played before on the Broadway Palm stage. She is a lively performer, and I liked her portrayal of how Judy stood up for herself when Phil got distracted by Rita (Amy Fenicle) and Rhoda (Abigail Curran). I also really liked how the main characters connected with and were kind to the General's granddaughter, Susan (Avalyn Clandra at my performance). Susan is very outgoing and caring, and Clandra portrayed her well.

The ensemble had a lot of dancing to do in this production, and they all kept high energy through the show. I loved how in sync they were, and had a fantastic time watching them perform.

Amy Marie McCleary directed and choreographed this production, alongside Evan Adamson as the Set Designer, Marshall Pace as the Technical Director, Ben Porter as the Resident Technical Director, Russell A. Thompson as the Lighting Designer, Chris McCleary as the Video Wall Designer, Karl A. Smith as the Associate Lighting Designer, John P. White as the Costume Designer, Eryn Miller as the Costume Supervisor, Abbey Dillard as the Sound Designer/Light Technician, Loren Strickland as the Musical Director, Abbie Garrison as the Stage Manager, and Brian Enzman as the Casting Director. All of these creative elements came together to bring a beautiful and well-done production to the stage. Amy Marie McCleary's direction and choreography was, as always, superb.

This production is filled with classic songs like "Sisters," "Blue Skies," "I Love a Piano," and "White Christmas." It puts you right in the holiday spirit, and is beautifully heartfelt. With fun dance numbers, well-known Christmas songs, gorgeous costumes, and much more, it is a very fitting and fun show for the season. I absolutely recommend seeing this show while it's playing, now through December 30. Follow the link below for more information and to purchase tickets.

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