Count Your Blessings
“How far would I travel to be where you are?
How far is the journey from here to a star?
And if I ever lost you, how much would I cry?
How deep is the ocean? How high is the sky?”
Lyric from How Deep is the Ocean
You can tell Christmas is here when the Mill at Sonning mounts their holiday season musical! This delightful dining theatre in the heart of the Berkshire countryside produces shows brimmed with West End Production values, with singing and tap dancing to die for at close quarters. This year it is Irving Berlin’s White Christmas and at the curtain call, I could see many struggling to get to their feet to give this show a deservedly standing ovation.
This impressive show starts with American soldiers in 1944 singing “A White Christmas” for the troops with its evocative lyrics reminding them all of home. Captain Bob Wallace (Jason Kajdi) was a Broadway star before joining the army and he meets an aspiring musical theatre star, also in the army, Private Phil Davis (Connor Hughes). Their commander is General Waverly (Mark Curry).
After the war, performing as a double act in Florida, “Wallace and Davis” look for a female double act to join them. They receive a letter telling them about singer/dancer duo Betty (Gabriella Williams) and Judy (Nic Myers). Their song “Sisters” is a delight. There is a cry for help from a failing theatre venue and hotel in Vermont owned by their ex-General and run by Concierge Martha Watson (Shirley Jameson). They go for Christmas expecting snow and find that freak weather (1950s early climate change?) has Vermont at 79 degrees F or 26 degrees C.
I loved the lighting and design giving scenes in green and lavender and pink using light to change the atmosphere and backdrop. The costumes are beautiful and seen in close up as the cast often enter from the auditorium stairs. The men have shiny waistcoats in soft colours with matching handkerchiefs.
The main four performers are all excellently cast and the surprise is Shirley Jameson’s tremendous voice as she has several standout songs as the resourceful concierge. The love story is slight, boy meets girl, they fall in love, a misunderstanding parts them, but who needs strong plots with Irving Berlin’s sensational compositions and lyrics?
It is the tap dancing sequences which take this musical into a divine experience. Tap is increasingly rare in the theatre choreographic repertoire and seeing it executed live is something else. All credit to choreographer Gary Lloyd and director Jonathan O’Boyle.
If I can’t sleep tonight, I shall be thinking of the lyrics to “Count Your Blessings”.
“When I’m worried and I can’t sleep
I count my blessings instead of sheep
And I fall asleep counting my blessings . . .”
This was advice given to Irving Berlin to deal with his insomnia. I know that on my blessings list is having had the privilege to see “White Christmas” at the Mill in Sonning this year.
Editor of TheatreVibe.co.uk
See ABOUT US
Musical Numbers
Act One
Happy Holiday
White Christmas
Happy Holiday/Let Yourself Go
Love and the Weather
Sisters
The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing
Snow
What Can You Do With a General?
Let Me Sing and I’m Happy
Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep
Blue Skies
Act Two
I Love a Piano
Falling Out of Love Can Be Fun
Sisters (Reprise)
Love, You Didn’t Do Right By Me/How Deep Is the Ocean
The Old Man
Let Me Sing and I’m Happy (Reprise)
How Deep is the Ocean (Reprise)
The Old Man (Reprise)
White Christmas (Reprise)
I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
Production Notes
White Christmas
Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin
Book by David Ives and Paul Blake
Choreographed by Gary Lloyd
Directed by Jonathan O’Boyle
Cast
Starring:
Elliot Allison
Natasha Cayabyab
Grace Chan
Mark Curry
Connor Hughes
Shem Omari James
Shirley Jameson
Jason Kajdi
Greta McKinnon
Nic Myers
Lewis Rae
Jack Speck
Eleanor Walsh
Gabriella Williams
Creatives
Director: Jonathan O’Boyle
Choreographer: Gary Lloyd
Set Designer: Jason Denver
Costume Designer: Natalie Titchener
Musical Supervisor : Darren Clark, Mark Aspinall
Lighting Designer: David Howe
Sound Designer: Chris Whybrow
Musical Arranger and Director: Jae Alexander
Musical Arranger: Mark Benheim
Information
Running Time: Two hours 40 minutes with an interval
Booking until 25th January 2025
Theatre:
The Mill at Sonning Theatre
Sonning Eye
Reading
RG4 6TY
Website: millatsonning.com
Box Office: (0118) 969 8000
Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge
at the Mill at Sonning
on 6th December 2024
