IRVING BERLIN’S WHITE CHRISTMAS is the stage adaptation of the popular 1954 film musical. It tells the classic story of a successful song-and-dance team who become romantically involved with a sister act and together work to save the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding Army general. The show made its New York premiere at Broadway's Marquis Theatre earlier this month and is scheduled to run through January 4. Director Walter Bobbie, who won a Tony for his direction of the smash revival of CHICAGO, recently discussed the show’s journey to Broadway.

From the time Bobbie was initially approached about bringing the film script to the stage to having it actually happen, only ten months elapsed – which is practically unheard of today. “We basically started that January or February (of 2004) and we were on stage by November with the big multimillion dollar musical,” says Bobbie. The intense process of bringing a script and music to the stage typically involves years of development, workshops and readings. “We were doing it the old fashioned way,” Bobbie explains. “We were writing and designing and developing all at the same time. It was a thrilling exercise and a brave one.” Since opening in San Francisco in late 2004, WHITE CHRISTMAS has played Los Angeles, Boston, Toronto, Detroit and St. Paul, Minnesota.

Though the stage show is based on the movie, there are slight differences, Bobbie says, including the opening. The first half-hour of the movie takes place in war-torn Europe but the stage show opening is condensed into several minutes. “It begins in the Second World War but instead of moving to 1954 20-minutes later, we move to 1954 two and a half minutes later.” Among the classic songs from the film that are featured in the stage show are "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep," "Sisters," "How Deep is the Ocean," and the title song “White Christmas”. Several new songs from the Irving Berlin catalogue have also been added. Even with the differences between the movie and stage show, Bobbie thinks the story translates well. “Do we do the story of “White Christmas”? Yes. Do we honor a great war hero and general and give him his dignity and respect ten years later as they do in the film? Of course. But the rules of film and the rules of stage are wildly different.”

Bobbie hopes people leave the theatre “beaming” and with a little less cynicism than when they arrived. “I think the wonderful thing about the show is the way Berlin manages to capture people’s hearts,” he explains. “I see grown-up people, who think maybe they’ve come to give their children a Christmas show, sit there with the same simplicity and delight as the children next to them.” He believes the reason WHITE CHRISTMAS has done so well over the past four years is because it’s an honest display of human qualities that we can all recognize and admire. But he is quick to make the point that even though the show is “sweet” it’s not “syrupy”. “I don’t think it’s insulting to anyone’s intelligence and I don’t think it’s a false representation of people,” he says.

Despite the show being new to Broadway, plans are already in the works for a 2009 seasonal tour. As for the New York production, Bobbie says that the producers had not originally intended to bring the show to Broadway. “I think what’s happened is the success of the show out-of-town has made this Broadway debut inevitable,” he explains. Whether the show becomes an annual production depends on the financial viability, which remains to be seen. For now, WHITE CHRISTMAS is poised to become New York's newest holiday tradition.

More information on IRVING BERLIN’S WHITE CHRISTMAS can be found online at WhiteChristmasTheMusical.com.

By: Beth Cox