By Richelle Sutton
It’s that time of year again to get nostalgic for the old winter classics, and an amazing way to start off the season is CenterPoint Legacy Theatre’s production of Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn, performed on the Barlow Main Stage in Centerville, Utah. Based on the film from Universal Studios, Gordon Greenburg and Chad Hodge adapted the book for the contemporary audience in 2014 and premiered the musical in the Goodspeed Opera House and then the MUNY. It has many of the toe-tapping classic Irving Berlin songs you know such as “Happy Holidays”, “Easter Parade”, and “White Christmas”.
Part of a musical trio, Jim is tired of the rat race and buys an estate in the country. When he gets there, he finds the place is rundown and behind on bills and taxes. After failing at farming and being dumped by his fiancé Lila, Jim decides to turn his estate into a show hotel that’s only open on the holidays. He convinces Linda, the former owner of the estate and his new love, to perform in the show. During the opening of the show, however, his former friend Ted stumbles in drunk declaring that Lila left the duo and he needed a new dance partner. He sets his eyes on Lila, but Jim isn’t willing to part with another one of his loves, even for Hollywood.
Director Jim Christian puts on a fantastic production with a strong set of actors and an amazing production team. This show brings me back to what I love about the old classic movies like White Christmas, which is wholesome entertainment and show-stopping numbers. Right from the first song, “Steppin’ Out with My Baby/I’ll Capture Your Heart,” Clayton Barney (Rich Adams) playing Jim Hardy and Christian Johnston (Daylen Bills) playing Ted Hanover show off their extensive talents in singing and dancing. Although their characters specialize in one of these talents respectively, the actors easily perform as triple threats. Likewise, Kelley Campbell Richardson (Allison Hogge) as Lila Dixon is an impressive dancer and easily lights up the stage with her smile. Chelsey Reynolds (Lindsea Garside) as Linda Mason plays a strong and beautiful lead heroine, smoothly revealing the character’s weaknesses and strengths. Kohler Beckstrand (Everett Duce) playing Charlie and J. Bradley Howell (Darin Beardall) as Danny are both charming in their roles and provide great catalyst points for the other characters. But I do have to admit that my favorite character was Louise. Melissa Trenery (Brittany Bullen) is perfect with her comedic timing and so lovable as a supporting friend to Jim and Linda.
What really glues all of the songs together, however, is the ensemble. All of their dancing is clear, professional, and fun to watch. They are very talented in singing, harmonizing, and performing complicated choreography numbers all at once and I was impressed with the stamina that they have, especially for numbers like “Shaking the Blues Away.” Jessica Merrill has an amazing eye for choreography no matter if it’s solo, duo, or group numbers. I was also impressed with how seamless the scene changes are within the show, thanks to the stage crew and the set designer Scott Van Dyke. No matter how many different locations there are, each set piece is beautiful and wonderfully crafted for its setting and time period. I loved how colorful and appropriate each costume piece is to the characters, thanks to Laurie Oswald and the beautiful hair/wig design of Garside. The sound design by Jay M. Clark is seamless and easily supports the actors’ voices. Likewise, I was impressed with how the lighting design by Seth Williams deftly highlighted important moments. It is bright and colorful without being garish.
Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn is a must-see for any and all this Christmas season. Centerpoint Legacy Theatre in Centerville, Utah performs an exciting, fun, and heart-warming classic that you’ll want to see again and again.
Names in parentheses are for TTHS cast.
Centerpoint Legacy Theatre presents Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn, book by Gordon Greenburg and Chad Hodge.
CenterPoint Legacy Theatre (Davis Center for the Performing Arts) 525 N 400 W, Centerville, UT 84014
November 20-December 21, 2019, 7:30 PM, Saturday Matinees 2:30 PM
ASL Performance Saturday November 30
Tickets: $17.75-$26.25
CenterPoint Legacy Theatre Website
CenterPoint Legacy Theatre Facebook Page
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