WE WILL ROCK YOU - REVIEW OF MUSICAL AT THE CAA ED MIRVISH THEATRE

Reviewed by James Karas 

Do you love rock’n’roll music? Then go online to the Mirvish website and grab you tickets to We Will Rock You,  now playing at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre. When you attend the show make sure you get your green glow stick so that you can wave it around after every number that you love. You may not need any more information that I will impart in my review.

For those less thrilled with rock music I should mention a few facts that they may wish to know. First is the volume at which the singing and music are played. You may wish to classify it as great, normal, loud, very loud, deafening or eardrum shattering loud.  Chacun a son gout. But the noise from the audience, from applause to joining in the singing should not be understated. They were having a blast.

The lighting deserves a few words. It is an almost non-stop effusion of multi-colored brightness that lights up the stage and spreads onto the audience. It adds to the excitement and euphoria of the spectators. You may find it perfect accompaniment to the music, singing and dancing on stage or you may consider it a bit over the top.  

We Will Rock You may be considered a concert but it does have a plot on which to hang its songs. We are in Globalsoft which could be a corporation, a country or a planet that is ruled by the Killer Queen (Maggie Lacasse) with her head of security Khashoggi (Patrick Olafson).  Globalsoft is a totalitarian society sometime in the future and it has outlawed rock music. It may be Orwellian but it struck me as Nazi with the black uniforms of its forces looking like SS soldiers.

We hear that rock’n’roll is dead and has been replaced by Tik Tok. Maybe almost dead, because there are those who are trying to revive it. One of them is Galileo  (Callum Lurie) who thunders some rock songs and he joins a band of Bohemians with his cohort Scaramouche (Paige Foskett). Galileo is considered a prophet or as someone on whom the history of rock music has been uploaded or something else that I did not catch. The  musical relies on AI and other computer terminology.

The cast of We Will Rock You. Photo: Dahlia Katz 

The Killer Queen and her collaborators deprogram people who still love rock music. They also know how to torture people. Oh yes, rock music is stored on some ancient gismos called VCR tapes but no one knows how or on what to play it.

The Bohemians  are looking for a sacred rock where the remains of the riches of rock music can be found. They go to Graceland, the shrine/house of Elvis Presley, the King of Rock. Rock is saved or revived and the title song of the musical is sung with enormous relish and enthusiasm including the participation of the audience raucously and by waving their glow sticks. It is an amazing display of enthusiasm on stage and off.

The singing by the principals or the ensemble ranges, as I said, from loud to, let’s just say, extremely loud. Some of the songs can be sung at lower volume but in a rock concert that may be inadvisable or unthinkable.

Lurie has several chances to display his vocal talents and he does a great job. Scaramouche joins him with the same effect. The Killer Queen and Khashoggi get their turn and the latter brags that he can hit a high C. Nice try.

Jean-Marc Saumer is responsible for the complex scene designs while David Lee (Studios XF-40) handles the lighting and Yohan Gingras is the video designer, Vanessa Boriss is the costume designer, all of them deserve kudos for what are obviously complex jobs.

Steve Bolton is the director and, with Megan Brydon and Yannick Moisan, the choreographer.  

It is a grand show for rock music enthusiasts who have no issue with the items mentioned at the beginning of my review. Enjoy it.
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We Wiil Rock You by Queen (music and lyrics), Ben Elton (story and script) and adaptation by Steve Bolton opened on December 4, 2025, and  continues at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria St. Toronto, Ontario. www.mirvish.com

James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture, of The Greek Press, Toronto

NARNIA – REVIEW OF 2025 BAD HATS THEATRE PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas 

Narnia is a new adaptation of C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by Fiona  Sauder with music and lyrics by Landon Doak. The production by Bad Hats Theatre is now playing at the Young Centre in the Distillery District. It is a musical that Bad Hats Theatre tells us is “for kids and kids at heart ….. takes you on a journey through the wardrobe you’ll never forget.”

For those who have not read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, the second part of Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, it tells a story of magic and adventure in another world. Peter (Matthew Novary Joseph), Lucy (Belinda Corpuz), Susan (Sierra Haynes) and Edmund (Landon Doak) are sent to the house of a Professor (Astrid Van Wieren, also Aslan), a safe place away from the wartime bombardments of London in World War II. Lucy goes through the rear wall of a wardrobe and ends up in Narnia, a magical place that has continuous winter and is ruled by a bad White Witch (Amaka Umeh).

She meets Tumnus (Matt Pilipiak, also Mr. B)  who is half goat and half human. Initially he wants to report Lucy to the Witch but befriends her and does not turn her over. He suffers serious consequences from the Witch. Edmund befriends the Witch and becomes loyal to her. In any event, the forces of good, represented by Aslan the lion, and the children face the White Witch and the forces of Evil. You can guess the outcome but I will tell you that the four children become Kings and Queens of Narnia. And they return to the Professor’s house without the passage of any time between their sojourn in Narnia and their return to our world.

A scene from Narnia. Photo: Dahlia Katz

The production has enormous production values starting with Sauder’s adaptation and Doak’s music and lyrics. The production is lively, well-acted, amusing but never overbearing. The mood is set by Wieren as the kindly professor and as the decent and never frightful Lion. The music and songs are enjoyable, down-home folksy and a delight to the ear.

The White Witch may have done bad things but she is not disgustingly evil. Besides we know that the good guys will win. Wieren as the kindly Professor and Aslan the lion is friendly and, wearing a simple robe as the lion, she would not scare anyone. The four siblings do superb work with Belinda Corpuz being exceptional as Lucy.

James Daly plays Trumpkin, the Witch’s councilor and, most importantly, handles and speaks for Reepicheep, the mouse. It is on wheels and held by Daly on a stick and he “speaks” and squeals for it quite hilariously.

The set designed by Shannon Lea Doyle features three low staircases on wheels that are put to good use in the drama and charm of the play.

This Narnia seems like a family affair. Sauder adapted and directed the production as well as co-choreographing it with Rohan Dhupar. Doak composed the music and plays Edmund. Pilipiak plays Tumnus and Mr. B as well as being the dramaturg and Associate Director. Jonathan Corkal-Astorga is the Music Supervisor, Orchestrator, Arranger, and Music Director and is also a member of the Ensemble. Excellent work.

Narnia is a coproduction of Bad Hats, Soulpepper and Crow’s Theatres.
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Narnia adapted by Fiona Sauder continues until December 28, 2025, at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 55 Tank House Lane, Toronto, Ontario. www.soulpepper.ca.

James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture, of The Greek Press, Toronto

ROBIN HOOD, A Very Merry Family Musical – REVIEW OF 2025 CANADIAN STAGE PRODUCTION AT THE WINTER GARDEN THEATRE

Reviewed by James Karas

If you go to The Winter Garden Theatre to see ROBIN HOOD, A Very Merry Family Musical  by Matt Murray, be mindful of who you are going with. If you have or can find one or two, say, ten-year olds, your enjoyment of the show will increase exponentially. Otherwise, you will enjoy it anyway.

I am talking about the panto produced by Canadian Stage that has taken over the Ross Petty tradition and it is a ball of laughter. You may have guessed that this Robin Hood has almost nothing to do with, well, the Errol Flynn movie. This Robin Hood is a woman (Julia Pulo) and her enemy is the dastardly Prince John (Damien Atkins).

Robin and company are concerned citizens and want to save the small merchants that giant retailer Glamazon headed by Prince John wants to destroy by taking away all their business as well as the manufacturers’. Robin is a small business owner making hoodies  and she wants to stop Prince John and his board of directors of idiots from doing that. They want to take 90% of Robin’s profits from hoodies, destroy the Forest of High Park and build a factory over Casa Loma. Prince John is stealing all the gold coins and using them to develop a laser tree-destroying machine. He must be stopped.

Robin and her team of Friar Tuck (Eddie Glen) Little John (Julius Sermonia), the untrustworthy Marion (Praneet Akilla) and a few ensemble members face the enemy with songs, shenanigans, hilarious comedy and serious support from the audience. This is where who you go with counts. My associates helping Robin and me watching the show were nine-year-old Rose and eleven-year-old Evan. 

Scene from ROBIN HOOD, A Very Merry Family Musical. Photo: Dahlia Katz

Like all stern audience members, they laughed, applauded, stamped their feet and booed with relish the evil Prince John. They gave the performance a critical review. They loved it but did admit that there were jokes that they did not get. The line about lying to us about the completion of the Eglinton Rapid Transit did not register with them but the adults screamed with laughter. Donald, Elon and some others of their ilk were also  mentioned but they did not register with the important part of the audience.

But they liked the banners that came down reminding them to boo and they appreciated that the performance was “interactive” (their word) especially when they were asked to sing along with everyone.

The songs were lively and enjoyable. “Best Day of My Life” is lively, “Money (That’s What I want)” is the obvious anthem of the greedy Prince John, “Listen to Your Heart” is good advice, “Hold On” and “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” express the spirit of the determination of the good guys and the whole audience.

The show has at least two scene stealers and hilarious performers. Atkins as Prince John, dressed in black as becomes a villain, was hilarious. He goaded the youngsters into booing him (they did) and his appearance never failed to provoke the audience and of course produce laughter.

Equally funny but on the side of good guys was the cross-dressed Daniel Williston as Sparkle Bum. Dressed in a gaudy, over-sized, sparkling gown, he was a master of physical comedy, voice changes and an unerring ability to evoke laughter. He made everyone roar with laughter.

Julia Pulo’s Robin Hood had issues with  her employees and the show had a lesson in human relations for the audience. Aside from that Pulo was an agile, lithe leader who saved her business and the small merchants from Bezos, I mean Prince John.

This show’s Marion is not Olivia de Havilland but a man who eventually redeems himself after an act of treachery. I don’t know if he marries Robin. I give credit to the ensemble who sang, danced, moved and managed to keep young and grownups laughing.

There are some excellent vocal performances on top of the hilarity but most of us were too busy laughing, enjoying the reactions of the young crowd and booing to fully appreciate that talent on the stage.

Brandon Kleiman has designed colourful and exuberant sets to go along with Ming Wong’s bright and vibrant costumes. Mary Francis Moore directs, brings the whole show together and makes sure we are thoroughly entertained.
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ROBIN HOOD, A Very Merry Family Musical  by Matt Murray, produced by Canadian Stage opened on November 29 and will run until January 4, 2026,  at The Winter Garden Theatre, 189 Yonge St. Toronto. https://www.canadianstage.com/

James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture, of The Greek Press, Toronto

THE SOUND OF MUSIC – REVIEW OF 2025 PRODUCTION AT THE PRINCESS OF WALES THEATRE

Reviewed by James Karas

The Sound of Music is a grand old musical that gets a grand production at The Princess of Wales Theatre. At 66 (it premiered in 1959) it may be considered in advanced middle age but its oldness is irrelevant. It is a delightful musical with a very serious underbelly that is integral to the serious drama that underlies the humour and glorious music and songs by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. 

On the lighter side, it deals with a young girl who wants to become nun in a convent high in the Alps of Austria and we meet the Mother Abess (Christiane Noll). The convent is set in a breathtaking location and the would-be nun loves to sing but is a bit too lively for some of her superiors. Maria (Cayleigh Capaldi), the postulant, bursts out singing “The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Music.” Its complex lyrics tell us that the hills are a repository of songs that they sing, they are a place of solace, and the sound of music is a blessing.

Maria is sent to the palatial house of  Captain von Trapp (Kevin Earley) of the Austrian Navy to look after his seven children. Delightful songs follow, “Do-Re-Me,” “The Lonely Goatherd” and comedy with the lively children.

The romantic part of the musical starts developing as the Captain and Maria are attracted to each other. He is betrothed to the aristocratic Elsa Schraeder (Kate Loprest) and Maria is ready to to become a nun. These are obstacles that must be overcome. They are.

Kevin Earley (Captain Georg von Trapp) and Cayleigh Capaldi (Maria Rainer) with the von Trapp Children 
(l to r) Ariana Ferch (Liesl), Eli Vander Griend (Friedrich), Ava Davis (Louisa), Benjamin
Stasiek (Kurt), Haddie Mac (Brigitta), Ruby Caramore (Marta), Luciana VanDette (Gretl) 
in The Sound of Music. Photo Credit: Jeremy Daniel

Taking into account the story of a postulant being sent to look after seven children and teaching them to sing and have fun and then falling in love with their father, may seem as an obvious plotline and one may complain about it being saccharine. But, The Sound of Music is set on the eve of the infamous Anschluss, the takeover of Austria by the Nazis. Austria welcomed them and showed great loyalty to Hitler. It was a despicable capitulation to barbarity.

Seventeen-year-old Rolf Gruber (Ian Coursey) is courting sixteen-year-old Liesl (Ariana Ferch) but he has become a faithful Nazi and gives the Hitler salute. Max Detwiler (Nicholas Rodriguez) , a producer who wants the von Trapps to sing at a festival, is ready to embrace whoever will help him professionally. He does show loyalty to the von Trapps and helps them escape. Admiral von Schreiber (Corey Greenan) is a true Nazi and orders the Captain to report for duty immediately. When the von Trapps perform at the festival, huge Nazi banners form the backdrop.

It is a frightful scene as the specter of barbarism engulfs Austria (gladly) and the von Trapps terrifyingly. There is nothing saccharine about the Nazi uniforms and salute. That is the background against which The Sound of Music takes place.

The current revival is splendid. There is humor from the children and Maria. We see her dressed like a ragamuffin because she gave all her worldly goods to the poor. Asked about the ugly dress that she is wearing she replies that even the poor did not want it. The children and Detweiler are good for some laughs.

The music and wonderful songs have become classics and the singing by the soaring-voiced Cayleigh Capaldi and Earley as well as Christiane Noll is wonderful.

The sets by Douglas W. Schmidt, the costumes by Jane Greenwood and the lighting by Natasha Katz are superb. Danny Mefford’s choreography is outstanding.

Full marks to Jack O’Brien for directing this outsdtanding production at the perfect time of the year.

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The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers  (music), Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics), Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse (book) continues until January 4, 2026, at the Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 King St. West, Toronto, Ontario. www.mirvish.com

 James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture, of The Greek Press, Toronto.

 

ARABELLA – REVIEW OF 2025 LIVE IN HD FROM THE MET PRODUCTION

 Reviewed by James Karas

For the current production of Richard Strauss’s Arabella, the Metropolitan Opera reached back to Otto Schenk’s 1983 opulent staging. It was a wise decision and it is a production worth seeing on a movie theatre screen. Most of us will never know how much better it may be to see it at Lincoln Cener but that’s life.

This revival features a stunning cast led by soprano Rachel Willis-Sorensen in the title role, soprano Louise Alder as Zdenka, bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny as Mandryka, bass Brindley Sherratt as Count Waldner, mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill as Countess Adelaide and soprano Julie Roset as Fiakermilli. I give all these names because Strauss composed some beautiful and intricate melodies for all of them including for the relatively minor role of Fiakermilli. More about this later,

The opera is set in Vienna in 1860 but the libretto was written by Hugo von Hoffmasnthal in the 1920’s and left unfinished. Strauss dealt with the unedited libretto and its creaky plot and finished the opera. It premiered in Dresden in 1933. There are ironies in all those dates but I will mention the fate of the Austrian Empire between 1860 and the late 1920’s which is very striking when you look at the marvelous set and the social order in the opera and the reality of Austria when it was composed and eventually produced in Nazi Germany.

The plot is about the beautiful Arabella looking for a husband as she is courted by handsome officers. That is understating her case. Her family is broke and a rich husband for Arabella is their ticket to solvency. Count Waldner is a committed gambler and consistent loser who has written to an old and very rich army buddy in Slavonia trying to entice him to marry his daughter. He enclosed a fetching picture of his daughter to help the rich man decide.

The old man is dead but his nephew and sole heir to his fortune, Mandryka, has seen the picture of Arabella and fallen in love with her (I told you the plot is slightly creaky). In the throes of love, he went searching for the girl in the picture. He stands on the street where she lives and Arabella sees him from her window and she falls in love with him. End of opera? Certainly not. We have two more hours before we are finished.

A scene from Arabella. Photo: Jonathan Tichler, Met Opera

Let us praise the singers. Rachel Willis-Sorensen sings the role of Arabella for the first time and gives a superb performance. She has a beautiful voice and can soar to the high notes and handle her low notes with beauty and aplomb. Strauss has crafted arias for her that test her musical and vocal  talents and she is outstanding.

I won’t bore you with the details of the passionate expression of love between the two as soon as they find out their names. Take my word for it and listen to their duet and Strauss’s music.

Arabella has a sibling called Zdenka, a girl, but family finances are not enough to raise two female children so she is dressed in men’s attire and becomes Zdenko. Strauss is equally generous with the vocal parts for her (whatever she is wearing) and Adler proves adept at handling the high demands placed on her. Zdenko/a becomes a plot catalyst by making it seem that Arabella is unfaithful to Mandryka by giving a key to Arabella’s suitor Matteo (Pavol Breslik, a superb tenor) and endangering the Arabella/Mandryka betrothal.   

Strauss takes care of Arabella’s parents who are good for some comedy but much better for the music and singing opportunities that he provides. Her father goes from depression because he is broke, to elation because he has money to gamble, and to being an upstanding paterfamilias when the family honor is endangered. Her mother relies on a fortune teller for predictions about the family’s pending bankruptcy but all of that is alleviated by Strauss’s beautiful music sung superbly by Cargill and Sherratt.

Julie Roset has the minor role of Fiakermilli but she approaches it with vocal and physical exuberance and Strauss gives her some serious climbs up and down scales and some yodeling for good measure. Fiakermilli is the mascot of the cabbies and we are attending their annual ball.

The opera is set in the suite of a posh hotel where the Waldners live, a ballroom and the lobby of the same hotel. The set presents a vision of wealth, spaciousness and luxury. It is an image of old Vienna that we accept together with the fancy attire of the officers and the men and the gorgeous costumes of the women and the high manners of everyone.

Regardless of the occasionally creaky plot that could seem straight out of an operetta, Strauss’s complex, intricate and superb music takes it out of that milieu. As I said, most of the characters that sing are given superb arias or duets.  

The revival by director Dylan Evans uses the 1983 sets designed by Gunther Schneider-Siemssen and the costumes of designer Milena Canonero and the lighting of Gil Wechsler.

Nicholas Carter conducted the Met Opera Orchestra and Chorus briskly and superbly.

The production is a delight to the ear, the eye and everything that we hope to find in an opera production.
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Arabella by Richard Strauss was shown Live in HD from the Metropolitan Opera at select Cineplex theatres across Canada on November 22, 2025. There will be an encore showing on January 7, 2026. For more information including dates for reprises go to: www.cineplex.com/events

James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture, of The Greek Press, Toronto

a profoundly affectionate, passionate devotion to someone (-noun) – REVIEW OF 2025 PRODUCTION AT TARRAGON THEATRE

Reviewed by James Karas 

a profoundly affectionate, passionate devotion to someone (-noun) is the long and pretentiously uncapitalized title of debbie tucker green’s play now showing at Tarragon Theatre in a coproduction with Obsidian Theatre. It is about domestic squabbles and specifically about three couples that we see separately talking, arguing, quarreling and rarely communicating. All of that struck a chord with many audience members on opening night.

The author is a British playwright with a commendable number of plays, many of which have been produced at the redoubtable Royal Court Theatre in London. a profoundly premiered at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in 2017. This is her first play that I have seen.

The characters are not given names and the first couple is A (Virgilia Griffith) and B (Dwain Murphy). They are arguing and set the standard for bickering and lack of communication that we will see many times during the 90-minute performance. Each person attempts to say something and is interrupted with a reply or a retort in midsentence, sometimes within several words. The second speaker’s reply is cut short by the first speaker and all we get is that these two people may have a point to make but interruptions and counter-interruptions are what we hear.

Initially the woman seems to have the upper hand but the stakes are equalized and we cannot choose a side except to scream SHUT UP to both of them and allow each other to finish a sentence and engage in a meaningful quarrel. Their squabbling goes through a number of scenes as the years of their marriage or cohabitation pass. They have a daughter and their discussion takes a calmer tone as they look at their child and try to figure out whom she resembles. In the end, they reach an impasse and we want to believe that they have found peace and may be able to speak in full sentences and may express full thoughts. The problem is we did not understand what they were bickering about except generalities. We need firmer ground and information to understand these people and not cardboard arguers.

Dwain Murphy and Virgilia Griffith. Photo: Jae Yang

The second couple consists of a middle-aged Woman (Warona Setshwaelo) and a Man (Andrew Moodie). She has motormouth without brakes as she launches her tirade against him. He tries to say something but has few chances to say anything. The scene with the two of them ends in an impasse that we would like think it will lead to peace. Again, we do not get the fundamental grounds for the squabble except the paper-thin exchanges.  

The last couple consists of a Young Woman (Jasmine Case) and a much older Man played by Andew Moody again. We see A walk across the stage and assume that the Young Woman is the daughter of A and B. The Man, played by the same actor as the Man of the second couple may be the same person, many years later, in a relationship with a much younger woman. In this May-December relationship, the Man is old enough to be the Young Woman’s father. They have the same problem with communication because neither allows the other to complete a sentence, let alone a thought. The same routine of you don’t listen, you don’t understand, and on and on and on and on.

The title, a profoundly affectionate, passionate devotion to someone may be a dictionary definition of love and the author may want us to believe that these couples’ relationships fall within that description. We hope that is true and their quarrels are realistic but, in the theatre, we want some more information about what gives substance to their love. Do they reach a revelation or a development in their relationship and see that they love each other or are they just exhausted and call a truce only to resume that fight later? It is not clear and the plot development is unsatisfactory.

Director Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu runs a tight ship and has disciplined the five actors in carrying on under tight rules. They do very well at it and deserve a great deal of credit.

Jawon Kang has designed an unrealistic set consisting of large triangular ramps and some small boxes, all in grey. Lighting Designer Raha Javanfar indicates the scene changes by subtle light changes. 
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a profoundly affectionate, passionate devotion to someone (-noun) by debbie tucker green, a Tarragon Theatre and Obsidian Theatre Company co-production,  continues until December 7, 2015, at the Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Ave. Toronto, Ontario.  www.tarragontheatre.com

James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture, of The Greek Press, Toronto.

WHITE CHRISTMAS - REVIEW OF 2025 SHAW FESTIVAL PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas

The Shaw Festival continues with its laudable holiday season. This year it is again mounting the perennial favorites, A Christmas Carol, and Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. Yes, the one based on the 1954 movie with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye.

White Christmas gets a wonderful production and what follows is a rave review. It is justified by the delightful performances, the production values, the gorgeous costumes and, yes, the great idea of giving us an old-style Christmas musical that is fearlessly sentimental, funny and a throwback to a different world.

Bob Wallace (Jeff Irving) and Phil Davis (Kevin McLachlan), the song-and-dance duo, were in the U.S. army in Germany in December 1944 under the command of  the very popular General Waverly (David Keeley). Ten years later they meet the two-sister act of Betty (Camille Eanga-Selenge) and Judy Haynes (Mary Antonini). They are the sisters of an army buddy who asked them to have a look at their act. Phil and Betty are seriously attracted to each other and Davis decides to follow the two of them  to a gig in Vermont. He bamboozles Bob into going to Vermont unknowingly. The soldiers find their general running an inn and on the verge of bankruptcy.

They decide to call up their 151^st regiment to the general’s inn in Vermont to help him out.The whole thing works out and we get a happy ending. I told you it is sentimental.

Berlin wrote some wonderful songs for the movie and plenty of them. White Christmas starts with “Happy Holiday” in 1944 and continues with the signature carol “White Christmas”: that sets the tone for the season and the musical. Betty and Judy sing the melodic “Sisters” and we hear and agree with the sentiment that “The Best Things Happen While You Are Dancing” sung by Phil, Judy and the ensemble, and the beautiful “Snow” sung by all. 

Jeff Irving as Bob Wallace with the cast of White Christmas. 
Photo by Michael Cooper.

We hear from Martha (Jenni Burke), the nosey, boisterous, stentorian and hilarious  manager of the hotel who thinks she is Ethel Merman and Kate Smith rolled into one. Pure comic relief. And there is the young Susan Waverly (Celine Jung) who sings and steals scenes. Tap dancing went out of style a long time ago, but in this production, it is a center piece of talented dancers and entertainment. Allison Plamondon is the choreographer.

Judith Bowden is the sets and costumes designer and she delivers superb sets and an array of costumes that are not only beautiful but also striking in their number and frequency of changes. I found the numerous sets and almost innumerable costumes dazzling.

I counted almost thirty people on stage, many taking several roles, singing, dancing and providing comic acting. That is a lot of people but not as many as necessary in some scenes. When General Waverly greets the men of the  151^st regiment there are only three men on stage. He speaks to the audience as if the entire regiment showed up.  

Paul Sportelli conducted the orchestra and Kate Hennig directed the production without missing a beat and Allison Plamondon did the choreography. One should not underestimate their contribution. With the amount of activity demanded by the production, from acting, to singing, to tapdancing, it is a complex undertaking that we may take for granted. It is an extremely difficult undertaking and these artists deserve and get a standing ovation.

But watching an entertaining, sentimental and wonderful musical at this time of the years is terrific and if all is not enough, remember the title of the final song: “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm.”
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White Christmas  by Irving Berlin (words and music), David Ives and Paul Blake (book)  continues until December 21, 2025, at the Festival Theatre, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. www.shawfest.com

James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture, of The  Greek Press, Toronto