White Christmas

This Scottish Premier was well handled by this experienced company.  On this night, the role of Phil Davis had to be taken over by the understudy and a splendid job Sandy Bain made of it. He paired well with his song and dance partner and created a rapport with his female lead Karine Stalker as Judy. He and she sang well together in The Best Things Happen While You Are Dancing and in I Love A Piano.  Ross Bain performed confidently as the song and dance partner Bob Wallace and in his error strewn relationship with Alison Train as Betty, both singing delightfully in Count Your Blessings and How Deep Is The Ocean. Bob and Phil showed their comedic skills in their version of Sisters. Also strong in characterisation were Carol Fraser as long suffering Martha, creating comedy as she went, and Eric Brown in a nicely judged performance of General  Waverley. Supporting principals like Rita and Rhoda, the manipulative pair (Shona Fraser and Claire Withnell),  Mike the manic stage manager (Connor Watt) and Ezekiel the monosyllabic stage hand (Garry Withnell) contributed to the quality of the show. One of the highlights was the wonderful voice of 12 year old Daisy Mackie as Susan. Chorus and dancers provided colour and carried out their roles with grace and conviction. Sets were minimalist, creating the scenes and making for easy transition.  1950’s costumes and hairdos pinned the show firmly into that era with a colourful red spectacle for the finale. Irving Berlin’s music claimed the audience with favourites like Sisters, Blue Skies and I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm, while White Christmas became the audience’s own song- making us all ready for Christmas. All were enjoying themselves on stage and left the audience with a real ‘feel good’ factor. Well done to all.

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