La Plata, MD— The Port Tobacco Players ring, sing, and dance their way into the holiday season with this year’s Christmas performance of “White Christmas” starting Friday, November 25.
Under the direction of Tessa Silvestro and producer Matt Jameson, the Players are hoping to bring their own version of holiday cheer to the community.
“We want the audience to come, escape for a good two hours and take away a good sense of holiday connection,” said Jameson.
“White Christmas” is a family show that tells the story of two World War II buddies, Bob Wallace (played by Matt Usina) and Phil Davis (played by Bradley Silvestro), who go into show business post-war duties. The two find themselves at a Vermont lodge, days before Christmas, with a holiday filled with performances and romances.
“Nobody does ‘White Christmas’. We haven’t done it and it’s not been done around here,” said Silvestro. “I wanted something energetic, something exciting and upbeat, and something that will send you on your merry way for Christmas.”
The “White Christmas” musical is an adaptation of the classic holiday movie also titled “White Christmas” that was made in 1954, starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen.
The music for both the movie and musical is by Irving Berlin, who’s responsible for music from other classic films like “Easter Parade,” “Annie Get Your Gun,” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” The music director for the Port Tobacco Players’ version of the show is William Derr.
The Port Tobacco Players will be performing “White Christmas” from November 25 to December 18 on Fridays, Saturdays at 8pm and Sunday matinees at 3pm. All Sunday Matinee shows are already sold out. But Thursday showings on December 8 and 15 at 8pm have been added to the performance list.
Tickets prices are $18 for adults and $15 for seniors, youths, and military.
The Players’ musical adaption will still feature the movie’s iconic, classic numbers like “Sisters,” “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing,” and “Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me,” but also might offer something new to the audience.
The dance choreography.
Choreographer, Ben Simpson, was ready to challenge the cast to master an assortment of dance styles from tap and jazz to waltz.
“We started with music rehearsals and the cast learned their music. And then I started with dance and we started hard with all the big tap numbers. I actually taught two or three just dance techniques and tap classes before I even started them on the choreography,” said Simpson.
Out of all the dances in the show, Simpson admitted the hardest one to piece together was “Blue Skies”, the final number in Act One.
“It’s a long number and it’s very technical,” said Simpson. “They’re doing pirouettes, some very difficult placements of their bodies and it needs to be clean, precise, and uniform because they’re all wearing the same thing so if one person moves wrong, we all know.”
Between the singing, the dancing, and the bringing of holiday cheer, the cast also had to perfect the numerous amounts of costume changes that costume designer, Quentin Nash Sagers, brought to life from the paramount picture to the stage.
“There are 171 costume changes, not costume pieces, 171 costume changes. There’s just a lot,” said Nash Sagers. “This is a really large musical. This is like old school broadway where if you’re in the ensemble, you’re not sitting. You’re changing your clothes every 5 minutes. It’s what the script really calls for.”
But the real goal Nash Sagers wanted to ultimately achieve through his costumes was the element of “technicolor” that the original “White Christmas” film embraced.
“The color scheme of the whole show… I wanted to really make you feel like you’re watching a 1950’s movie,” said Nash Sagers.
Through the run of the show, Port Tobacco Players ask the audience to sing along and just two more things.
“I would like them to one, get in the holiday spirit. And two, not always pre-judge what you think you want in life. Your journey can travel and you can experience something you weren’t expecting,” said Simpson.
Photos Courtesy of Sweet Serendipity Photos
