White Christmas

With their flawless track record of producing shows of the highest quality, it will come as no surprise to anyone that BLOS have managed to pull off another theatrical coup with a stunning production of Irving Berlin's 'White Christmas'. This is a relatively new stage musical, based on the rather older film (those with long memories or a fondness for daytime TV repeats will remember that it starred Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye) and is a feather-light piece of whimsy, wrapped up in the star spangled banner and dusted with snowflakes of the sugary variety. This is a show which needs to dazzle with coruscating choreography and marvellous music to really come to life and fortunately, the packed house at the Mechanics got exactly that and much more besides: the show sounded simply majestic and looked good enough to eat. This production of 'White Christmas' really impressed and is a testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved at BLOS to pull out all the stops and entertain a deservedly packed house at Burnley Mechanics.

The most immediate and thrilling thing of note was the sumptuous orchestral sound summoned up by Simon Murray and his orchestra. From the opening bars to the grand finale, the music was of a deep, intense brilliance and the quite breathtaking quality of the sound was maintained all the way through the show: it was quite simply mesmerising. The clean, crisp staging was also very impressive, with a giant video wall setting the scene for each part of the show in a suitably hi-tech fashion, enabling swift scene changes and adding a glossy, expensive feel to the production. Most of the time, the video wall did a sterling job of bringing an ultra-modern feel to the show and there were some clever touches; there one or two occasions when I felt that it detracted a little from the homely, home-spun air at the heart of the show however. That said, for the most part it was a terrific addition and there were scenes which looked a million dollars, partly due to the technological assistance from the super slick pixels at work at the back of the stage! 

The show's lightweight plot being of no immediate to concern to us here dear reader (it's one of those shows where, for the flimsiest of reasons, some people who fancy each other - but can't quite manage to get it together until the last 5 minutes of the musical - feel the need to put a on a show in a barn, 'against all the odds'), let us turn to the performances. As is traditional with a show from BLOS, there wasn't a weak link in the cast with superlative performances from everyone on stage. Leading the way as America's favourite song and dance men, David Barratt and Peter Rigney excelled as Davis and Wallace; two fantastic all-round performances which kept the show moving along at a cracking pace all night. David brought an open-hearted warmth to the character of Phil Davis and Peter brought a depth and inner life to the role of Bob Wallace which added much to his characterisation and gave the show a solid backbone. Their partners in jollity, Betty and Judy Haynes, were impeccably played by Jenny Gill and Leanne Bradshaw; sweet of voice and fleet of foot, both of the girls also confidently essayed the sisters' different personalities throughout the show and dazzled in one routine after another. The central quartet were perfectly matched, really worked together well and provided the driving force for the production.

Geoff Baron gave General Henry Waverley a heart of gold and was every inch the old soldier and Joanne Gill gave her usual barnstorming performance, this time as Betty Haynes. Together with Ruby Whittaker as young Susan, the three of them created a warmly comical counterpoint to the rest of the on-stage action. Double casting the role of Susan meant that I only saw Ruby's performance - who was fantastic - but my spies tell me that Freya Allison was every inch as good too! As always with a BLOS production, the supporting cast was also the highest standard: Becky Wright and Laura Chadwick were great value as the cheeky Rita and Rhoda; Greg Wharf was his usual bouncy, breezy self as Ralph Sheldrake; Tony Lewis was a comically harassed Mike and Alan Whitaker stole every scene he appeared in as Zeke! BLOS is blessed with having a great team spirit and a talented ensemble from which to draw upon to fill each role. The entire cast of principal players, support roles and chorus offered amazingly strong support in every department: it's a rare thing for a society to be blessed with a pack of players which, however you shuffle the deck and allocate the roles, will always produce a winning hand.

Although the piece taken as a whole is a fluffy feel-good piece of nonsense, the charm of the show can blossom when put in the hands of a talented cast and staged with flair and imagination, which is certainly what happened here. Each and every musical number was a riot of music and movement of the highest standard. The opening segue from the Western Front to the Ed Sullivan Show was superb; 'Snow' was an all-round winner; the Act One finale ('Blue Skies') was breathtaking; 'Sisters' managed to achieve the hitherto unthinkable in finally erasing all associated memories of the tune with the Beverly Sisters once and for all;  'Let Me Sing and I'm Happy' was sly, slick, funny and dazzling all at once... I could go on. This was a show which looked and sounded simply fantastic from curtain up to grand finale and powered through the night like a sugar frosted locomotive in SurroundSound. It was the sheer, unadulterated pleasure of the sound of the show - the lush orchestral sound from the band, the vocals from the whole ensemble and Lea Royse's perfect sound balance - all coming together to create a magical musical experience which, for me, was the most memorable and impressive achievement of the production. Here was an evening's entertainment which was technically faultless, staged to perfection, directed with verve and élan by Anthony Williams: a show chock-full of peerless choreography and world class performances. The future of amateur theatre is safe in the hands of Burnley Light Opera Society. 

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