Review: WHITE CHRISTMAS at Diamond Head Theatre

The sun is shining, the grass is green,

The orange and palm trees sway

There’s never been such a day

[….here in Hawai’i nei?]

But it’s December the twenty-fourth

And I am longing to be up north…

Released in 1954, ten years after D-Day, the movie White Christmas was a bonafide blockbuster. It was the first Paramount movie shot in the widescreen VistaVision format, and featured rich and vivid Technicolor, which the costumers and set designers used to their full advantage. Now, seventy years on, the film’s stage adaptation at Diamond Head Theatre still dazzles audiences with its post-war optimism and luxuriates in its Golden Age musical theatre joy. This production is holiday escapism at its finest, complete with an audience-participation singalong, but has been updated for modern audiences in ways that are both necessary (eliminating the minstrel number, for one) and theatrically improved (changing the “Snow” quartet to an ensemble number on a train). All this to say, the show has broad appeal, even for the movie superfans.

In terms of sheer spectacle, it was particularly nice to see DHT’s larger stage utilizing multiple physical backdrops (with set design by Willie Sabel) rather than relying on projections as in many of their recent productions since moving to the new theatre. The costuming (Emily Lane) complemented the spectacle with some beautiful Old Hollywood style, in particular the black gown worn by Betty Haynes (Lanie Hicks) for “Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me” and the iconic red finale looks for the four leads. Musical Director Phil Hidalgo also contributes to the lush atmosphere, heading an orchestra that does justice to the classic Irving Berlin score. I was particularly pleased to hear Mr. Hidalgo's emphasis on vocal blend—a hallmark of this era of music—both among the ensemble and the leads. The aforementioned “Snow” ensemble number was lovely, as were “I Love a Piano” and especially the Act I closer “Blue Skies”. The Andrews Sisters-esque trio for “Falling Out of Love Can Be Fun” was also an absolute delight, but it was the buttery vocal blend between Bob Wallace (Adam Allison) and Phil Davis (David Sheftell) that transported me every time.

That being said, while the vocal chemistry was on point, the interpersonal chemistry on stage left a little something to be desired. Phil and Judy (deftly played by the fabulous triple threat Alexandria Zinov) shone, especially in their highlight dance number of “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing”, though that is perhaps due to their status as a real-life couple. Choreographer-director John Rampage, though a wiz at creating beautiful stage pictures, let the chemistry between Betty and Bob fall by the wayside, not helped much by Mr. Allison’s somewhat baffling Mid-Atlantic vocal affectation (and was inexplicably the only person in the show to use this accent). Both Mr. Allison and Ms. Hicks are stunning vocalists (their “Count My Blessings” was gorgeous), but their youth and Mr. Rampage’s propensity for having his performers play out to the audience rather than to each other created a dissonance that was underwhelming. It was also a shame to see a deficit of chemistry baked into the choreography of “Sisters”—arguably the most iconic number of the show behind the title song—as Betty and Judy barely ever make eye contact! The cheeky sibling rivalry that acts as an undercurrent for the song just wasn’t there, though it was beautifully danced and sung by both women. Luckily, these were the only hiccups I noticed, and scene-stealers Ezekiel Foster (Fedrico Biven) and Martha “the Megaphone” (Mary Chestnut Hicks) provided some much-needed levity throughout. Martha’s “Let Me Sing And I’m Happy” in particular was a showstopper!

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