Bobbie, Skinner, and Ives Team Up To Bring 'White Christmas' To Broadway This Winter

Following acclaimed engagements in San Francisco, Boston, Detroit, Toronto, Los Angeles and St. Paul, IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS, a new stage adaptation of the beloved classic film, will arrive at  the Marquis Theatre on Broadway this holiday season - guaranteeing that New York will have a white Christmas!

Previews will begin Friday, November 14th, 2008 for a limited engagement through Sunday, January 4th, 2009. Opening night date, schedule and casting information will be announced shortly.

IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS is produced by Kevin McCollum, John Gore, Tom McGrath, Paul Blake, The Producing Office, Dan Markley, Sonny Everett and Broadway Across America in association with Paramount Pictures.

Every holiday season, audiences of all ages enjoy the uplifting story of White Christmas. Now, a new generation will be able to experience this holiday tradition in a completely new way – live on stage. With the Broadway arrival of IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS, the show is poised to become New York's newest holiday tradition.

The musical tells the story of two showbiz buddies who put on a show in a picturesque Vermont inn, and find their perfect mates in the bargain. Full of dancing, laughter and some of the greatest songs ever written, IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS promises to be a merry and bright theatrical experience for the entire family.

IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS is directed by Tony Award® winner Walter Bobbie (Chicago, Sweet Charity), with a book by David Ives (Is He Dead?) and Paul Blake, choreography by Tony Award® nominee Randy Skinner (42nd Street), set design by Tony Award® nominee Anna Louizos (In the Heights, Avenue Q), costumes by Tony Award® nominee Carrie Robbins (Grease!, Over Here), lighting design by Tony Award® winner Ken Billington (Chicago, The Drowsy Chaperone, Annie), sound design by Tony Award® nominee Acme Sound Partners (In the Heights, Spamalot), orchestrations by Tony Award® nominee Larry Blank (The Drowsy Chaperone), vocal and dance arrangements by Bruce Pomahac, music supervision by Rob Berman, and casting by Jay Binder C.S.A. The stage production is based on the Paramount Pictures film, written for the screen by Norman Krasna, Norman Panama, and Melvin Frank.

"There are three reasons why I wanted to stage this musical," explains director Walter Bobbie. "Irving Berlin, Irving Berlin, and Irving Berlin!" Ted Chapin, President of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization which administers the Irving Berlin copyrights said: "Irving Berlin was always proud of the movie White Christmas, and we are thrilled that it has now become a stage musical. He wrote a song about Christmas that became more than a song – it became the highlight of one film, the title song of another, and a worldwide phenomenon."

Many Irving Berlin classics are showcased in the new production, including "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep," "Sisters," "How Deep is the Ocean" and the unforgettable title song, "White Christmas." This production of IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS plays during the holiday season each year in a different city, bringing the spirit of love, charity, and song around the country for all to enjoy.

IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS made its world premiere stage debut during the 2004 holiday season in San Francisco, garnering rave reviews and establishing its status as a don't-miss holiday show.

IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS makes you feel like "you've stepped into a Technicolor movie musical," said the Oakland Tribune. The show has since dazzled audiences across the country. "A holiday juggernaut. There's plenty to ooh and aah over. One well-loved Berlin tune after another" said the Los Angeles Times. "Plenty of razzmatazz, including snow!" said the Boston Globe. The Detroit Free Press declared the show "Highly entertaining holiday fare!" and the St. Paul Star Tribune called it "A dazzling, sweet work that deserves plenty of praise."

IRVING BERLIN (Music & Lyrics). Born Israel Beilin in a Russian Jewish shtetl in 1888, he died as Irving Berlin in his adopted homeland of New York, New York, USA, in 1989. Songwriter, performer, theatre owner, music publisher and soldier, he defined Jerome Kern's famous maxim: "Irving Berlin has no place in American music. He is American music." Berlin wrote over 1200 songs, including "White Christmas," "Easter Parade," "Always," "Blue Skies," "Cheek to Cheek," "There's No Business Like Show Business," "Alexander's Ragtime Band," and "God Bless America." He wrote the scores to more than a dozen Broadway musicals, including Annie Get Your Gun, and provided songs for dozens of Hollywood movie musicals. An unabashed patriot, his love for -- and generosity to -- his country is legendary, and through several of his ongoing foundations, including The God Bless America Fund, he donated millions of dollars in royalties to Army Emergency Relief, the Boy and Girl Scouts and other organizations. Among his many awards and accolades were the Academy Award® for "White Christmas," a Congressional Gold Medal, a special Tony Award® and commemoration on a U.S. postage stamp.

David Ives (Book) is probably best known for his evenings of one-act comedies, All In The Timing and Time Flies. Last season his adaptation of Mark Twain's Is He Dead? played on Broadway, while his play New Jerusalem: The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza at Talmud Torah Congregation, Amsterdam, July 27, 1656 played off-Broadway at Classic Stage Company. It will be coming to Broadway this season. He has adapted 22 musicals for City Center Encores! series, and has written three young-adult novels, the third of which, VOSS:  How I Come To America and Am Hero, Mostly, will appear this October. He is a graduate of Yale School of Drama and is a former Guggenheim playwriting fellow.

Paul Blake (Book and co-producer) is currently enjoying his 19th season as the executive producer of The Muny in St. Louis, where he produced, directed and wrote the world premieres of Sleeping Beauty with songs by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and P.G. Wodehouse, Three Coins in the Fountain with songs by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Roman Holiday with songs by Cole Porter, and Breakfast at Tiffany's with songs by Johnny Mercer. Among the many popular performers in the more than 100 shows Mr. Blake has produced and/or directed at The Muny are audience favorites such as Howard Keel, Tommy Tune, Van Johnson, Michael Feinstein, Phyllis Diller, Adolph Green, Gretchen Wyler, Captain Kangaroo and The Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. He has produced national tours of Words and Music with the late Sammy Cahn, An Evening with Jerry Herman starring Jerry Herman, She Loves Me with Pam Dawber and Joel Higgins, and The King and I with Shirley Jones. His regional work includes the award-winning Diamond Lil for San Francisco's A.C.T., as well as Barefoot in the Park starring Shaun Cassidy and Julia Duffy and Mass Appeal with John Travolta and Charles Durning.  Mr. Blake's production of Roman Holiday will commence its commercial life in England in January 2009.

Walter Bobbie (Director) is a three-time Tony Award® nominee. His direction of the international hit Chicago won him the Tony®, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards, and the musical is now the longest-running revival in Broadway history. He recently directed Christopher Durang's The Marriage of Bette and Boo at Roundabout Theatre Company and David Ives's New Jerusalem at Classic Stage Company. Other Broadway credits include High Fidelity, Sweet Charity starring Christina Applegate, Twentieth Century starring Alec Baldwin and Anne Heche, Footloose for which he also co-authored the book and A Grand Night for Singing. He has directed for the New York Shakespeare Festival, Manhattan Theatre Club, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Sundance, the O'Neill Center and Goodspeed Opera House. He directed Fiorello!, the premiere production of City Center Encores! series, and shortly thereafter was named its Artistic Director. He has since directed City Center Encores! series productions of Tenderloin, Golden Boy and No, No, Nanette and continues as an Artistic Associate and a member of City Center Encores! series Advisory Committee. Mr. Bobbie's Carnegie Hall concerts include Carousel, starring Hugh Jackman and Audra McDonald, and South Pacific starring Reba McEntire and Brian Stokes Mitchell, which was filmed for Public Television and nominated for an Emmy®. His production of Irving Berlin's White Christmas has become a holiday favorite in the U.S. and England. Mr. Bobbie is a member of the Executive Board of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.

Randy Skinner (Choreographer). Shows include: 42nd Street (Tony®, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Astaire nominations), State Fair (Outer Critics Circle nomination), Ain't Broadway Grand (Tony®, Outer Critics Circle nominations), After the Night and the Music (MTC/Biltmore), Do Re Mi, Of Thee I Sing, Face The Music and No, No, Nanette (the last four for City Center Encores! series productions), Lone Star Love (Lucille Lortel Award nomination), Puttin' On The Ritz (Kennedy Center), Stormy Weather (with Leslie Uggams/The Prince Music Theatre), An American in Paris (The Alley Theatre). In Los Angeles: Happy Days; Hello, Dolly! (with Nell Carter); Pal Joey (with Dixie Carter, Elaine Stritch); Strike Up the Band (with Tom Bosley). "The 2001 Tony Award® Telecast" (opening number). He has received the Los Angeles Drama Critics, Los Angeles Dramalogue, Bay Area Critics, Connecticut Critics and Cleveland Times Theatre Awards.

www.whitechristmasthemusical.com

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