White Christmas

This stage adaptation of the classic Irving Berlin Christmas movie was an ideal showcase for the talents of this company being full of well-known songs, dancing, comedy and moments of pathos. The pairing of Craig Pike and newcomer Matthew McBrier as ex-army buddies turned song and dance men Bob Wallace and Phil Davis was inspired. Craig's rendition of "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep" was a tear jerker and Matthew's dancing was exceptional - shown to its best in "The Best Things Happen While Your Dancing" number. The ladies were not to be outdone - Sophie Hamilton Pike was an elegant Betty Haynes and Victoria Cowan as her sister Judy was a perfect foil. I particularly enjoyed Sophie's rendition of the torch-song "Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me". Joanne Peacock was excellent as Martha the gossipy, hard-headed concierge with a heart of gold, wringing every ounce of laughter out of witty one-liners and her rendition of "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy". Strong support was given by Andrew Begg as General Waverly, by Ellie Yeats as his grand-daughter Susan and by Angus Mackintosh as the increasingly frustrated stage manager Mike. Mention too must be made of Garry Watson's lugubrious Ezekiel Foster who had the audience in stitches at his every appearance. The 20 piece orchestra, under the baton of Ewen Ritchie, gave a full and rich sound to the Irving Berlin melodies. The set and costuming were beautiful, especially in the final scene with the nice touch of artifical snow falling in the auditorium during the finale "White Christmas". The only thing that could  have made this evening perfect was to leave the theatre and find that snow was falling - and believe it or not - it was!. A perfect ending to a perfect show.

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