BWW Reviews: Renaissance Players' IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS

With a score that features some of the songmaster's most memorable tunes, Irving Berlin's White Christmas provides theater companies with a surefire holiday hit: Dickson's Renaissance Players opened their production last Friday night for a two-weekend run at The Renaissance Center at Freed-Hardeman University. Based upon the iconic 1954 film (that was, in turn, inspired by the 1942 Holiday Inn, which is currently onstage for the first time at the Goodspeed Opera House) starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen, the stage musical features a lot of singing, quite a bit of dancing and some sweetly evocative humor that is very much of the period.

While the Renaissance Players' mounting might be a little rough around the edges, there's still plenty to recommend the show if you're in need of some Christmas cheer. Directed by Jon Kopischke, with choreography by Alaina Deaver and musical direction by SharonTaylor, Irving Berlin's White Christmas features Jarrod Clark, Zane Jordan, Amanda Mollehour and Tawny Frey as the leading quartet of showbiz types (along with the showstopping Linda Sue Runyeon, who delivers some of the night's best moments) who breathe life into the libretto by David Ives and Paul Blake (based upon the screenplay by Norman Krasna, Norman Panama and Melvin Frank).

While the book hews pretty closely to the screenplay, there are enough changes to make things interesting for the theater-goer. The plot-with two nightclub stars spending the holiday season in a snow-free Vermont ski resort while engaging in romantic hijinks with a winsome sister act, and hilarity provided by dancing girls, a tumbling woodsmen and a ex-Broadway belter who's now a concierge-is easy to follow and eases you into the right frame of mind in time for Christmas frivolity to ensue.

The songs don't necessarily follow the same order as they do in the movie, the stage score features so many Berlin standards that you really shouldn't give a fig. "Blue Skies" closes out act one and is likely to leave you humming along during intermission, while the act two opener "I Love a Piano" is just as delightful. Of course, "White Christmas" closes out the show in perfect style, "Sisters" is as charming as ever, and "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing" is as romantic you hope it to be. "Snow," performed by Jordan, Frey, Kimberly Rye, Shane Kopischke and the ensemble, sets the wintertime scene.

As with previous Renaissance Players' productions, perhaps the most impressive thing about Irving Berlin's White Christmas is the company's palpable enthusiasm: it's clear everyone's having fun and that makes up for some lack of polish. Kopischke's cast (as with most community theater troupes, there's a wide range of ages, experience and stage presence represented) are focused in their delivery of the tune-filled show and action moves along at a nice clip. Scene changes are handled quickly and with ease, for the most

Mollenhour's lovely voice is perfect for Betty Haines' numbers, particularly on "Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me" and her duet with Clark on "Love and the Weather." As Bob Wallace, Clark's voice seems well-suited to a period piece (close your eyes and you can easily imagine him in one of those glorious movie musicals of the 1930s or '40s), most notably in "Blue Skies" and "How Deep is the Ocean."

Jordan and Frey are wonderfully paired as Phil Davis and Judy Haines, their chemistry ensuring that even the most predictable of scenes are rendered fresh. They shine in "I Love A Piano," backed up by the ensemble (Kaila Brooke and Kimberly Rye are among the standouts).

But it's Linda Sue Runyeon who makes the most of her time in the spotlight, literally knocking the socks off of every audience member with her explosive performance of "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy." Runyeon gives a superb performance as Martha Watson, the inn's major domo/concierge, ideally capturing the sense of warmth and nostalgia that makes White Christmas, well, White Christmas. The second act trio of "Falling Out of Love Can Be Fun," performed with the requisite amount of sass and flash by Runyeon, Mollenhour and Frey, offers audiences one of those moments that, quite frankly, exemplifies what musical theater is all about and what an Irving Berlin song should sound like.

Carey Thompson is right on target as retired general Henry Waverly, with the up-and-coming Alyssa Runyeon as his granddaughter Susan. Jeremy Hudgens is good as Ralph Sheldrake and Ron Runyeon contributes some big laughs as Ezekial Foster.

• Irving Berlin's White Christmas. Music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Based upon the Paramount Pictures film. Book by David Ives and Paul Blake; written for the screen by Norman Krasna, Norman Panama and Melvin Frank. Presented by The Renaissance Players at The Renaissance Center at Freed-Hardeman University, Dickson. Through December 14. For tickets, go to www.renplayers.com.

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