Review: WHITE CHRISTMAS at Argenta Community Theatre Gets You in the Holiday Mood

Broadway World had a fabulous time at Media Night for WHITE CHRISTMAS at Argenta Community Theatre, 405 Main St., in North Little Rock Wednesday, Dec. 7. This show is so popular that they sold out their original run dates, added four more shows, and sold those out as well. BWW is not at all surprised. The Argenta community has a thriving, supporting arts/entertainment district, and ACT continues to grow and present top-notch productions show after show.

"Argenta Community Theater has never had a show sell out a week and a half before opening," Vincent Insalaco, White Christmas Dir./ ACT Producing Artistic Director said. "We are incredibly grateful patrons are returning and supporting live theater at an even greater level than before the pandemic. We never take our guests, volunteers, donors and supporters for granted."

Our pre-show gathering was held on the second floor and consisted of wine and appetizers and mingling with the fellow journalists. Then, Director Insalaco came up to give us a moving speech about the history of Irving Berlin's classic, and House Manager Beverly Williams came behind him to tell us not to fall over the side or drop anything on the people below. Honestly, both talks were needed to fully appreciate the whole experience.

WHITE CHRISTMAS follows two soldiers Phil Davis (Case(y) Dillard) and Bob Wallace (Jamie Stewart) who go from entertaining the troops to entertaining on the Ed Sullivan Show. After they watch sister act Judy Haynes (Allison Stodola-Wilson) and Betty Haynes (Emory Tyson Molitor), Phil decides they need to follow them to Vermont, where they find their old commander General Henry Waverly (Greg Fallon) and his assistant Martha Watson (Jamie Boshears) and his granddaughter Susan Waverly (Piper Wallace). Phil and Bob find out that the Inn is in financial strains and has their crew come to Vermont to put on a show for their troop members and their families. All goes well, the boys fall in love, and everyone, including the audience, has a White Christmas.

The Argenta never ceases to showcase the many talented performers in our area. The actors were reminiscent of a time gone by. Stewart's Bob and Dillard's Phil are a comedic powerhouse with enough contrast to keep you smiling. Their songs "Happy Holidays" with Ralph Sheldrake (Steven Jones) and "White Christmas" opened the show giving the audience the warm fuzzies right off the bat. The differences with Wilson's Judy and Molitor's Betty were equally endearing to watch, and their song "Sisters" made us want to sing along.

Then when mixing up the pairs, those relationships were even more fun. The contrasting Bob and Betty pairing had you rooting for a happily ever after. "Love and the Weather" had them crooning together, yet separate about love being fickle, and when you think they are going to fall completely in love during the song "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep," they are lamenting with "Love, You Didn't Do Right by Me/How Deep is the Ocean," which really brought out Molitor's sultry vocals. The bubbly Phil and Judy pairing had a cutesy quality, even when they were pouting at each other, and their two major dance numbers were stunning. WHITE CHRISTMAS is a serious dance musical, and co-choreographers Stodola-Wilson and Dillard started rehearsing their dancers three months out, and it was fabulous-the paired numbers, the ensemble pieces, all of it....and there was a lot.

There were other characters that made an impression as well. Boshears' Watson had a gigantic personality and voice that resonated in the whole theatre during "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy." Rhoda (Madeleine Arancibia) and Rita (Heather Bankhead) were funny as the flirty dancers, but the scene stealer of the show goes to the amazing Piper Wallace. I will just come out and say that BWW is a huge Piper fan and loves to see her onstage, and when she belted out her own version of "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy," the audience (or at least the ones in my row) wanted to give her a standing ovation after her performance.

Broadway World was delighted to see that ACT decked out the theatre lobby to celebrate the true meaning of WHITE CHRISTMAS.

'White Christmas' is really about honoring a war general and during this production we are honoring our own WWII heroes, displaying actual uniforms, memorabilia and pictures from those in the cast and crew whose family members fought in the war. A special thanks to Tim Sopel for his efforts in creating the display. 'White Christmas' is a special one for us and we hope it is for our community as well." -Vincent Insalaco, White Christmas Dir./ ACT Producing Artistic Director.

For information on upcoming performances or educational opportunities, visit their website at https://argentacommunitytheater.org. Broadway World sends a special thank you to photographer Royce West for the use of these wonderful pictures.

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