The 5th Avenue Theatre’s “White Christmas” was a show full of amazing talent and captivating set designs.
The production follows the story of Bob Wallace (Ashley Day), Phil Davis (Philip Attmore), Judy Haynes (Taryn Darr) and Betty Haynes (Cayman Ilika). After serving as soldiers in World War ll, Bob and Phil work together as a popular singer and dancer duo, eventually meeting singing sisters Judy and Betty Haynes. Phil is immediately in awe at Judy’s beauty, while Bob is more hesitant to express his feelings for Betty. Eventually, Bob and Phil follow the Haynes sisters to the Columbia Inn in Vermont where the sisters have an arrangement for a job: being entertainers at the inn. The inn has been struggling financially for a while. In the common goal of helping the struggling inn, Bob, Phil, Judy and Betty decide to put together a big show to bring in business.
The actors’ talent demonstrated their dedication to the production. Day and Attmore showed their talent throughout the production with the many musical numbers and dances choreographed by co-director James A. Rocco. When Bob and Phil are exploring their careers before meeting the Haynes sisters, the dancing numbers in their show include some fun dance moves and top hats on stage. Ilika and Darr were amazing throughout the entire production, especially in the scene in which they meet Bob and Phil. Singing at a bar with extravagant blue dresses and feathers, the Haynes sisters catch the eye of both Bob and Phil, even with a not-so-complex dance routine.
The costume designer, Carrie Robbins, created the beautiful dresses worn by the Haynes sisters throughout the production–the most memorable being the dress worn by Betty when she travels to New York attempting to start up a solo career. It was black and flowed across the stage, with the straps of the dress being black lace flowers accessorized with diamond jewelry. Leaving Vermont, where her sister was, gives her independence from her career with her sister. Another notable costume design is seen at the end of the production when the cast sings “White Christmas.” Everyone is dressed in formal red and white attire. Judy and Betty Haynes wear beautiful red dresses with red and white patterns of flowers and fur details on Judy’s dress.
The stage designs should be noted as nothing short of remarkable with the wide array of sets. The inn was used as the primary scene throughout the production and included a front desk, window area for the Christmas tree and a set of stairs.
“White Christmas” was filled with amazing musical scenes, including multiple waltzes and energetic dance numbers. The most important of them is seen at the end of the production, when the cast sings “White Christmas” and performs an engaging dance routine. The production ends with snow falling on the audience while the cast sings. This was an amazing way to end the production, and the snow accompanying the song was stunning.
Overall, “White Christmas” was a production filled with all the cheer you could dream of this holiday season.
