Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Shaw Festival is playing Holiday Inn as a musical at their flagship Festival Theatre this year to expand their Christmastime offerings to audiences. Not every musical at Shaw is a success, and this one is far from revolutionary. But it is one heckuva good time and a highly enjoyable play for all ages.
Despite the film that inspired the show being released 75 years ago, this version of Holiday Inn is relatively new. It only premiered on stage in 2014, played Broadway in 2016, and made its Canadian premiere last year.
For those unfamiliar with the property, the story opens in 1946 with a famous song and dance trio. Frontman Jim Hardy (Kyle Blair, in his career best) is quitting show business and buys a farm in Connecticut. When farming doesn’t go so well, he renovates the property into an inn with a stage show - only open on holidays.
A few dozen of Irving Berlin’s greatest hits make the songbook for the show, most of which are featured in other stage shows. Memorable tunes like “White Christmas”, “Be Careful, it’s my Heart” and “Shaking the Blues Away” are standard through the show. They also are the hallmark for a story like this.
Director Kate Hennig’s production is inescapably old-fashioned. There’s large painted backdrops, a pastel colour palette, and scene changes are either behind curtains or in plain sight. But these design choices and staging techniques is exactly the right way to present this old-fashioned material.
The result is an experience of seeing what the golden age of broadway was like. Other than one use of LED lights in a pair of shoes, there isn’t a modern sensibility for miles around. And this strategy in the staging is largely successful.
But by far the best part of the show is Allison Plamondon’s outstanding choreography. While most of the drama is in small, intimate scenes, the show really comes alive in several elaborate dance numbers.
Each one of them makes use of character relationships, conflict, the scenery and the story’s timeline to make them sparkle. Plamondon’s creativity and inventiveness is the best dancing I’ve ever seen at the Shaw Festival. It’s only matched by a talented ensemble to execute it, especially in the fantastic “Let’s Say It With Firecrackers.”
The ensemble is well rounded, with many performers showcasing great comedy and sincerity along with their footwork. And while Blair is a clear, heartfelt standout, special mention must go to William Wagner as local boy Charlie Winslow. His hilarious lines and delivery steal the show. (Wagner does alternate the part with Clara Poppy Kushnir.)
Holiday Inn isn’t anything special, but only the hardest cynics wouldn’t enjoy the warmth and simplicity of the show. For those looking for something more festive, their fabulous A Christmas Carol also returns at the Royal George Theatre for its third season.
While I do give Carol the edge as the better production, there’s little to dislike about Holiday Inn. It’s nothing special, but it’s a happy addition to the Shaw’s playbill this holiday season.
Holiday Inn
2 1/2 out of 4 Stars
Rated 6+. 2hrs 20mins. Musical Romance.
Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin. Book by Gordon Greenberg and Chad Hodge.
Directed by Kate Hennig.
Starring Kyle Blair, Kristi Frank, Kyle Golemba, Kimberly Rampersad, Jay Turvey and Jenny L. Wright.
Now Playing at the Shaw Festival Theatre, 10 Queen’s Parade, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON. Runs until Dec. 22, 2019. Tickets range $28-183. Tickets available online here or by calling 1-800-511-SHAW.
