White Christmas Confirms Broadway Premiere Engagement

The stage adaptation of Irving Berlin's classic film White Christmas is set to make its Broadway premiere at the Marquis Theatre. Directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie Chicago, the show features a book by David Ives Is He Dead? and Paul Blake, with choreography by Randy Skinner 42nd Street. Previews begin November 14 for a limited-engagement run through January 4, 2009. An opening-night date and casting will be announced shortly.

Featuring classic Berlin songs such as "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep," "Sisters," "How Deep is the Ocean" and the ageless title tune, White Christmas tells the story of two showbiz buddies who put on a show in a picturesque Vermont inn, and end up finding their perfect mates.

First produced as a movie in 1954, White Christmas starred Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney and featured choreography by an uncredited Bob Fosse. Though the title song was first used in the 1942 movie Holiday Inn, for which it won an Academy Award for Best Original Song, White Christmas earned a nomination in the same category for "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep."

White Christmas made its world-premiere stage debut during the 2004 holiday season in San Francisco. Engagements in Boston, Detroit, Toronto, Los Angeles and St. Paul followed. The show was recorded on Ghostlight Records with its San Francisco cast, which included Brian d'Arcy James, Anastasia Barzee, Jeffry Denman, Meredith Patterson and Karen Morrow.

The show will feature set design by Anna Louizos In the Heights, Avenue Q, costumes by Carrie Robbins Grease!, Over Here, lighting design by Ken Billington, sound design by Acme Sound Partners In the Heights, Spamalot, orchestrations by Larry Blank, vocal and dance arrangements by Bruce Pomahac and music supervision by Rob Berman.

White Christmas is being 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.