A Traditional Christmas Love Story, the Walnut Street Theatre Presents Irving Berlin’s Holiday Classic WHITE CHRISTMAS

By Catherine J. Barrier



Irving Berlin

Irving Berlin was born Israel Baline in the town of Tyumen, the first Russian outpost in Siberia, Eastern Russia, in 1888.  His very strict Jewish family immigrated to the U.S. in 1893, and after his father died, Berlin began to help support his mother and family on the streets of New York City at the age of 8. He later became a singing waiter.  He only went to school formally for 2 years, and it was while working as a waiter that he began to write songs.

Although Berlin never learned to read and write music, he was a prolific writer.  He wrote more than 900 songs, 19 musicals, and 18 movies.   His first world-famous hit song was “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” (1911), from his musical of the same name.  The song became internationally popular almost over night, and it got people enthusiastically dancing.  But Berlin also created simple and romantic ballads based on his own life and sadness, such as the sadness he felt after the death of his first wife, Dorothy Goetz, who died less than a year after they were married.  He later married the Catholic heiress Ellin Mackay—in 1926—and the couple had 3 daughters.

Among his many songs are numerous patriotic songs, such as “God Bless America”, introduced to the public on the 20^th Anniversary of Armistice Day 1938, by Kate Smith, and “This is the Army, Mr. Jones” from his morale-boosting WWII-era musical This is the Army (1943).  Some of his other well-known classic tunes include: “There’s No Business Like Show Business”, “Angels of Mercy”—written for the American Red Cross, “Easter Parade”, “Puttin’ on the Ritz”, and of course, “White Christmas”. 



Julie Reiber as Betty Haynes
--Photo by Mark Garvin--

 “I think people come to see the show partly because of the season (Christmas), . . . and because of the White Christmas movie—the iconic movie that’s brought to life on stage,” said Julie Reiber, who plays Betty Haynes, one of the leading female characters.  “A lot of people have sentimental connections to the movie, and I think that will bring some of them to the show.”  The 1954 movie White Christmas starred Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen and was directed by Michael Curtiz.

“Many people come with their families,” said Reiber.  “The story just brings out feelings, and love, and helps the connecting with family.”

“I saw White Christmas in New York at the Marquis [Theatre], and I saw the tour [last year], and I went after the rights right after I saw it,” said Bernard Havard, the Walnut Street Theatre’s President and Producing Artistic Director, when asked how and why White Christmas was chosen to be part of the Walnut Street Theatre’s season this year.  “The rights became available when the tour closed.”

“One hallmark of our work is honesty,” said Havard.  “We strive to be very honest with the piece, and there are 3 love stories in it, and it has a happy ending.  It’s about the holiday.  I saw it and liked White Christmas, and I thought the audience would like it as well.  So far, I’ve been proven to be right.  The show has broken 2 [ticket sales] records already.”  Early in the third week of November the show set a record for weekly ticket sales and then set a daily ticket sales record shortly thereafter.

Now, through January 9^th, The Walnut Street Theatre, now in its 202^nd season, presents Irving Berlin’s White Christmas on its Mainstage.  The Walnut, the oldest theatre in America, is located at 825 Walnut Street (at 9th), in Philadelphia (19107).  The intimate venue provides excellent acoustics and good views from virtually every one of its 1,100 seats, all of which are within 80 feet of the stage.  Tickets: $10-$95 (prices vary by performance); Premium tickets are available for $130 and include a tax deductible donation.  For dates and times of specific performances, or for additional information, including parking, see www.walnutstreettheatre.org.  For tickets, call (215) 574-3550 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. (10 p.m. on performance nights), 7 days a week, or Ticketmaster at (800) 982-2787.  Tickets are also available at the Walnut Box Office or online at the Website.  The ticket price includes a $2.50 historic facility fee, and the show runs for 2 hours and 30 minutes.

The holiday classic White Christmas is full of song, dance, and romance, and is set in a Vermont lodge owned by the leading male characters’ former Army commander, General Henry Waverly.  Bob Wallace (Jeffrey Coon) and Phil Davis (David Elder), two former war buddies are now a successful entertainment team and become romantically interested in a two-sister act, that of Betty Haynes (Julie Reiber) and her sister, Judy Haynes (Vanessa Sonon).  This production of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas is a musical based on Paramount Pictures’ 1954 film of the same name, which was written for the Screen by Norman Krasna, Norman Panama, and Melvin Frank.  Its incredible score contains songs, such as “Blue Skies”, “I Love Piano”, “How Deep is the Ocean?”, and of course, the title song.  Of this last number, Berlin once said, “[It is] the greatest song I have ever written.”

“I’m one of the sisters, the eldest, in this show,” said Reiber, who acted in her first show at 12 and has been acting professionally since she got out of college.  “I play the part that Rosemary Clooney played in the movie [version] (Betty Haynes).  Betty’s given up on love and is all business.  The whole story’s about Bob and Betty and about how these 2 people have given up on love, but how they find they need each other.  It’s about how they can find love again.”

“My first experience at the Walnut Street Theatre was in Curtains, their previous show, and I just had a great time doing that, and I was asked to stay on, so I did,” said Reiber, who played Niki Harris in that previous production. Reiber has lived in New York for some time and has been involved in 3 Broadway shows to date, most recently playing Elphaba in Wicked, and previously appearing as Natalie in All Shook Up and as Brooklyn in Brooklyn.  “[Working at the Walnut Street Theatre is] a great gig when you’re out of the city (New York City).  I felt like part of the family there.  Now, with this show,. . . it’s a great role, . . . and there are great tunes.  I like the holidays, and I was happy to stay on and have another experience with the Walnut.”

Vanessa Sonon, David Elder, Jeffrey Coon & Julie Reiber
and the Cast of White Christmas at the Walnut Street Theatre
--Photo by Mark Garvin--

“I love this character—of Betty—because she’s a little close to me,” said Reiber.  “She has an ‘edge’ to her, and she’s a little sassy at times.  I like her realism, the fact that she’s grounded in the reality of the world.  But love loosens her up, and she gets to sing some great songs, such as “Love You Didn’t do Right by Me”, a type of nightclub number in the show, like in the movie.  This production does something a bit different though.  In this show, there’s a combining of that song with [the character Bob] singing ‘How Deep is the Ocean’.  [And then we get to do] the whole classic Christmas thing at the end.  We wear read dresses and sing.  It’s really a feel-good role I get to play.”

“And the audience is jumping to their feet [during the performances] and singing along,” said Reiber.  “They seem to be having a wonderful time.  Around the holidays, with this music, you just can’t help but feel good.

“And vocally, it’s a nice break from some more challenging roles I’ve done.  It’s more traditional, and I can have fun with it,” said Reiber.

“Psychologically, it’s good to laugh, and this show will definitely put you into the holiday spirit if you aren’t in it already,” said Havard, who has been in theatre all his life and who, during a nationwide search, was headhunted out of Georgia, where he was the Managing Director at The Alliance Theatre, to become the Walnut’s Artistic Director.  This past November 15^th, he celebrated his 28^th year at the Walnut. “Seeing the show is a good way to get into the Christmas spirit.”

“It makes me very proud [to be the Artistic Director of the State Theatre of Pennsylvania],” said Havard.  Pennsylvania House Resolution No. 197, passed by the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, made the Walnut Street Theatre the State Theatre of Pennsylvania a number of years ago.

The Walnut Street Theatre opened on February 2, 1809, with its first theatrical production: Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s The Rivals.  In 1964, the Walnut Street Theatre was designated a National Historic Landmark.  The Walnut became a self-producing, non-profit regional theatre when Havard arrived in 1982, founding the Walnut Street Theatre Company.  Its Mission Statement is “. . . to sustain the tradition of professional theatre and contribute to its future viability and vitality”. Over the years, the Theatre has undergone a number of renovations, including a remodeling of the Mainstage area in 1998.  Today, the Walnut currently has more than 56,000 subscriptions annually, more than any other theatre in the world, and is the most active theatre company in the region.

The Walnut is a non-profit (501)(c3) institution, relying on contributed income to reach into the community.  It does 5 productions each season on its Mainstage and is one of only a few remaining “hemp houses” in the country, which means the theatre uses the original grid, rope, pulley, and sandbag system used 200 years ago.

“We’ve been challenged technically [with this production],” said Havard.  The show requires a revolve and a lift (elevator), as well as snow machines.  “But we’re getting everything to work.”

Most known American actors of the 19^th- and 20^th-centuries have played at the Walnut, actors such as the Barrymores, George M. Cohan, Will Rodgers, Fanny Kemble, Lilly Langtry, The Marx Brothers, Helen Hayes, Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, Marlon Brando, Audrey Hepburn, Sidney Poitier, Lauren Bacall, Robert Redford, Julie Harris, and Edwin Forrest, after whom the Forrest Theatre is named, just to name a few.  The curtain call, now a regular theatre tradition, started at the Walnut Street Theatre with the post-play appearance of noted 19^th-century actor Edmund Kean.

This production of White Christmas’s creative team includes the multi-award-winning Director and Choreographer Marc Robin, who is the current Artistic Director of the Fulton Opera House in Lancaster, PA, and Vocal Director Douglass G. Lutz, who has been involved with a number of Walnut productions in the past few years.  The show’s designers are: Scenic Designer Robert Andrew Kovach (Curtains, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Producers, Hairspray, Peter Pan); Lighting Designer Paul Black (The Producers, Hairspray, and Peter Pan); Costume Designer Colleen Grady (a recent Barrymore Award Winner for Fiddler on the Roof) and new-to the-Walnut Sound Designer Ray Nardelli.  Moreover, most of the members of the supporting cast and the ensemble have either strong ties to Broadway and/or to the Walnut Street Theatre.

“We create a family relationship [at the Walnut], and everyone is made to feel very much at home,” said Havard.  “We house all the actors at The Windsor [Suites], at 17^th and the Parkway, and we have what I call our ‘floating ensemble’.  For example, Jeff Coon is creating his 19^th role with us [in White Christmas], and this is the 6^th role with us for David Elder.  So, the audience recognizes the actors.  [The actors] have had a long relationship with us.  It’s like a family getting together for the holidays, and the fun and feelings that exist backstage flow out to the audience during the performances.”

But the Walnut Street Theatre is not just about theatrical performances.  It also has a Theatre School and is involved in numerous community outreach programs.

“I founded the Theatre School at the end of the second year I was at the Walnut (1984),” said Havard.  “And it’s non-accredited for a reason.  I wanted to hire actors, stage managers, professional workers to teach young people.  I also wanted to surround myself with artists, and many of the teachers have been with us for the whole time.  Then when we hire kids for [our productions, such as] Peter Pan or Oliver, which we did last year, many of them we’ve trained ourselves.”  Last year, enrollment in the School was up to 1,200.

“The School is very much a holistic approach to theatre,” said Havard.  Students at the Theatre School get involved in every area of theatre—working behind the scenes, as understudies, and in small parts.  “There’s a continuity; they move from one thing to another in the theatre,” said Havard.  “There’s the idea of a family.  There are lots of children at the Walnut.”

Courses are normally offered evenings and weekends throughout the year:  Fall Session – September to December; Spring Session – January to April; and Summer Session—May to August.  Weekday classes begin January 31^st and weekend classes on February 5^th.  For more information, or to register online for the Spring 2011 Session, go to www.walnutstreettheatre.org or call (215) 574-3550, ext. 510 or 511.

“Our community outreach is very important to us,” said Havard.  “As you know, the schools in Philadelphia are stressed financially, and many of the students are African-Americans or people of color.  The school audience is very important to us.  We’re going into the schools and providing programs for the students, and our instructors are from a mixture of races.”

“The programming has a lot to do with overcoming conflict,” said Havard.  “We’ve addressed that issue and take it into the schools, and our work’s been well received there.  One of our programs is about bullying, which has, as you know, reached catastrophic proportions.”

“We adopt a school every 2 years; currently, we’ve adopted the [small, K-8] Chester A. Arthur School, [located in Southwest Philadelphia (19146)]” said Havard.  “Theatre is integrated into every course in the school, and we get tangible results for attendance.  The attendance rises when we’re there.  Havard would like to believe that academic performance is improving as well but admits that assessing that accurately is somewhat harder to do at this time.”

“And we have several requests for scholarships,” said Havard.  “One of the programs helps identify a challenged youth, and we offer him/her a scholarship to attend the Theatre School.  The scholarship is made possible from an endowment fund.  One young girl in our Theatre School died tragically, and her parents started the endowment fund at the Theatre.”

“There’s another aspect of White Christmas I’d like to mention—the men and women in the Armed Forces,” said Havard.  “The timing of White Christmas is 1944, and there’s a scene with the soldiers and the general celebrating Christmas, and then another [scene, from several] years later, when the soldiers have a reunion, so our Armed Forces are ‘included’ in the celebration.”

“And there’s an audience sing-along in the show, as if [the members of the audience] were members of the Armed Forces,” said Havard.  “It’s amazing to have hundreds of voices singing in the theatre.  It’s really great!”




Edwin Forrest in 1836

The Walnut’s Edwin Forrest Award was established in 1990 and is awarded in recognition of a long-term significant contribution to American theatre by an individual or organization.  It was named in honor or Edwin Forrest (1802-1872), who is often described as America’s first great tragedian.  Forrest made his debut in 1820 at the Walnut Street Theatre and later did much to encourage the development of a truly American theatre.

“I hope people will come and have a good time; I can almost guarantee [them] a wonderful time,” said Reiber.

During his lifetime, Berlin wrote incredible music.  He also supported not only Jewish charities and organizations but a lot of other charitable work, and he raised millions of dollars for both the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts.  He died in his sleep in 1989, at the advanced age of 101.  His music lives on, and Christmastime is an ideal time to enjoy it—perhaps by attending a performance of White Christmas at Philadelphia’s own Walnut Street Theatre.

* Photos of Walnut Street Theatre White Christmas cast by Mark Garvin, Courtesy of the Walnut Street Theatre

© 2010 by Catherine J. Barrier.  All rights reserved.