Unseasonal Seasonality
Our last seasonal outing of this year (or rather last) is White Christmas at the Mill at Sonning.
Actually, the weather (as it is in the show almost to the end) was unseasonal – last year’s flood’s almost forgotten, so we could settle down to another wholly inappropriate venue for a re-staged Broadway Musical.
The Mill stage is still daintily small, but this year configured to have no up-stage area at all, everything is played on the tiny thrust, which the 14 players (including all Principals) manage to fill successfully. The Irving Berlin Musical - and 1954 film - based around the re-imagining of his hit Christmas song for Bing Crosby of several years before – has been slightly altered (the Minstrel routine for instance was dropped, I can’t imagine why!) and the initial meeting of the 4 Principals has been amended to add more tension, but the basic plot structure is unchanged, as two now successful song-and-dance men, who met first in the War, strive to help their old beloved General now running a failing Vermont ski resort (and hence the issue about unseasonal weather and the irony of the White Christmas song).
The cast is, as usual here, generally strong and of West End standard, although at the end of the run (and following a matinee) one of the male Principal’s voices was beginning to fail (and a cold, slightly foggy, atmosphere wasn’t helping).
But all three women main singers, and particularly the veteran Shirley Jameson, were spot-on and vibrant.
It only runs to the end of this week (25th Jan) and it’s fully booked, but the Mill Christmas musicals have always been good, so maybe book early for next year?