It's always “White Christmas” somewhere in Chicago.
I keep a diary, perhaps incomplete. Marriott brought the show to Lincolnshire last year. Drury Lane in both 2021 (albeit a slightly different version) and 2015 (starring Sean Allen Creel, now on Broadway in “Chess”, and Erica Stefan, currently “Amadeus” in “Steppenwolf”). Tour of the city center in 2017. Marriott Lincolnshire in 2011. Another tour of the city center in 2010. You got it. I also saw a Broadway production somewhere there.
Always with the general, soldiers, barn, artists and snow.
This year, it was the turn of the Paramount Theater in Aurora to stage a musical version of the 1954 VistaVision film starring Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen and Bing Crosby, complete with various extras from Irving Berlin's venerable catalog. For years I've resisted writing Irving Berlin's White Christmas (even though that's the official title of the show created in 2000 for the Tony Award-winning Mooney in St. Louis) because I see it as an example of class theft, with every composer's grandsons wanting to put a name in front of the real title and force everyone into submission. But FYI, this is technically Irving Berlin's White Christmas.
Of course, in musical reality, the Berlin numbers here include “Blue Skies,” “I Love the Piano,” “Sisters,” “Count Your Blessings (Instead of the Sheep),” “I've Got Love to Keep Me Warm” and other ditties from the 1,500 songs written by the prolific Irving Berlin. The plot (I mean, why bother?) features three romantic duos starring people yearning to unite: a double act hoping to connect with a sister act, and an old general who suddenly discovers the woman who has kept his inn warm all these years. So to speak.
If you weren't generous enough to read me, you might look up a lot of this in the age of artificial intelligence, shudder. But not an eyewitness account of what happened in Aurora, where I can talk about the stellar “White Christmas,” directed by longtime Chicago actor-turned-director Steven Schellhardt. So much so that I first cut and pasted my usual three-star review (this is a consistently sweet show) and added another half-star.
Why? First, the entire White Christmas experience is simply better at a historic venue like the Paramount, with the room and budget (at least for now) for a full-size 15-piece orchestra. Secondly, I really enjoyed Jeffrey D. Kmick's extremely stylish design, which reminded me of Derek McLane's work on Just in Time on Broadway. Third, the series, which typically features very good singing from the likes of Evan K. Dolan, Sophie Grimm and Jessie J. Potter, features a breathtaking vocal performance from Alex Sayek as Bob Wallace, who is a key role here. Sayek shouts “How deep is the ocean” (always a weird metaphor in this particular series) with enough dubious excitement to give seasonal goosebumps.
Fourth, David Girolmo plays the grumpy old general as if he were playing George S. Patton, and this is the mechanism for conveying the show's message of selflessness at Christmas. We'll miss how all these soldiers arrive in rural Vermont on Christmas Day with about a day's notice. Damn big hotel, I always think.
And yes, it is snowing. There's a nice little trick by Kmic: he rolls out a few digital flakes to make you think the theater is shirking this most serious of responsibilities, only for the Paramount's magical ceiling to function as its original architects intended, as a source of pleasure.
Paramount had tough few months struggle for funding with the city of Aurora previously supporting. The likely consequence is the end of such affordable tickets and discounted prices.
After the performance I took a short walk. In the center of town there was only one block, brightly lit and filled with families, only one block where happy provincials of all stripes were gathered, only one block with foot traffic, some of which went to one or two restaurants. Aurora puts this at risk, putting the city in danger.
Chris Jones is Tribune critic.
Review: White Christmas (3.5 stars)
When: until December 29.
Where: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora.
Duration: 2 hours 20 minutes
Tickets: $47-$122 by calling 630-896-6666 and paramountaurora.com
