Following a lovely three-week series on Sammon’s Landing and Peach Ridge Pier, it only seems right to pivot to one of the few occasions The 1306 briefly becomes an arts and culture column. Two weekends ago, I excitedly attended the opening night showing of the Hart Community Performing Arts Association’s (HCPAA) production of "White Christmas," whose stage adaptation is based on the 1954 movie musical of the same name.
The film's story opens in 1944 in the European theater of World War II, with war buddies Bob Wallace (who is played by Bing Crosby, and will be referred to as such) and Phil Davis (played by Danny Kay, and will also be referred to as such) performing a slapdash Christmas review for their division. We are introduced to Major General Waverly and the mutual affection had between the leader and his soldiers before closing the scene with an air raid.
Flash forward 10 years! It’s 1954. Bing and Danny are a famous Broadway duo finishing up a performance when another old army buddy recommends they check out his sisters’ sister act. We meet our leading ladies Betty (played by Rosemary Clooney, who will be referred to as such) and Judy (who is played by Vera-Ellen, and will be - oh you get the point) Haynes. As the girls perform, the romantic tensions between Bing and Rosemary, as well as Danny and Vera-Ellen, become obvious, and through a series of comedic shenanigans, they all end up on the same train to an inn in Vermont, where the sisters will be performing throughout the holidays.
They get to Vermont with unseasonably warm temperatures. With no snow to speak of, let alone to ski on, the housekeeper offers to pay the gals half the promised contract and send them on their way. Lo and behold, Bing and Danny are surprised to learn that the nearly bankrupt innkeeper is none other than General Waverly. I am also surprised by this revelation, as it seems after every Christmas I watch this movie, I immediately forget this plot point.
Danny and Bing offer to join in on the Rosemary and Vera-Ellen show with hopes to attract guests to the inn and gift their old leader the success and admiration he so deserves. Will the four leads pair up? Will the inn be saved? Will it snow in time for the cast to sing the titular song of White Christmas? You'll have to watch the film to find out.
A better question, though, is did the cast of the HCPAA’s production blow me away? Boy, did it! What a spectacle - huge chorus numbers, tap dancing, amazing vocals, hilarious performances and gorgeously grounded costuming. Bing and Danny's roles (played by brothers Daniel and Jesse Bowman, respectively) embodied a perfect mid-century comedic duo with their razor-sharp banter and timing; while Rosemary and Vera-Ellen's parts (played by Rachel Moore and Becca Gale, respectively) brought some outstanding vocals and dancing to the program.
The supporting cast was just as entertaining to watch as the main acts, and a well-rounded ensemble ensured there was not a single weak link on stage. My personal favorite duo was that of housekeeper Martha and General Waverly’s granddaughter, Susan - played by Kendra Larios-Mendez and Clarisse Perigard, respectively. Not only did they play off each other so well, but they individually brought wonderful singing talents to their roles.
The stage adaption also adds more music, more dialogue and new scenes that are not in the film. And I’d be remiss not to mention Director Dave Moul’s orchestration of the production. Due to construction at Hart Public Schools, the cast and crew had to prepare offsite at times and were surprised to find out that the school's air conditioning was not available during show weekend. Moul then put in a valiant effort to bring in supplemental AC units to keep the cast, crew and audience from suffering heatstroke in the auditorium.
As always, I tried to wrangle some cast members for a chat after their first public performance, snagging Melody Kasza (ensemble), Josi Moore (ensemble), Clarisse Perigard (Susan Waverly) and Lucy Hayes (company seamstress). Of course, the first thing I had to ask them about was their preparation for such a performance. Everyone ranged in experience when it came to the dancing, from Melody - “I’ve never danced a step in my life!” - to Clarisse, who's been dancing for four years. Even more experienced cast members got to try out new dance styles like tap, jazz and waltzes.
Said Lucy of the rehearsal process, “We only had two months to pull it together, so that’s very intense… especially with having beginner dancers and tap performances, that’s really hard. We put in a lot of work.”
Putting it plainly, Josi recalled “lots and lots of work, lots of mistakes and lots of forgetting.”
Melody added, “I’ve never danced a step in my life! I was so happy whenever I got picked to be in the front row.”
The girls also reminisced on the friendships that were formed throughout the show, particularly with such a mixed group of different ages and local postcodes. Said Lucy, “I love getting to make friends that I would never have made before… but just meeting new people that I would have never met, that’s been my absolute favorite.”
For Clarisse, the friends she made encourage her to do future shows, while Josi reminisced on funny moments backstage.
As for funny stories, everyone could agree that watching Jessie and Daniel learn the Haynes sisters’ song “Sisters” was a riot. They also found humor in their own mistakes learning the choreography, with Josi explaining how “preparing for ‘Blue Skies,’ when we were first using the flags, I hit many people in the face.”
Looking towards the future, the girls spoke their dream shows into the universe, ranging from other golden-age classics like “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” and “It’s a Wonderful Life,” to newer Broadway hits like “Matilda” and “Frozen.” Lucy, who enjoyed helping with the 1950s costuming of “White Christmas,” proposed “Guys and Dolls.”
The girls thanked their parents for encouraging them and tolerating the late-night rehearsals and their community of cast and crew and the families who all pooled in their time and energy to put the show together. “It would not be what you saw today if we did not have them,” explained Clarisse. “It's just really beautiful to get to work with this entire cast. It takes the help of everybody to make it work.”
