Following their sell-out production of Kinky Boots in May, Green Room Productions return to the Wyllyotts Theatre to present Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn.
The exuberant stage adaptation of the classic 1942 Fred Astaire/Bing Crosby film can be seen in Potters Bar from October 31 to November 4.
This joyous musical features thrilling dance numbers, laugh-out-loud comedy and a glorious parade of Irving Berlin hit songs including Blue Skies, Heat Wave, Easter Parade, Cheek to Cheek, Steppin' Out With My Baby, Be Careful It's My Heart, Shaking the Blues Away, and everyone’s favourite Christmas song, White Christmas.
“If you’re after a bit of escapism I know the perfect place,” said Alastair Woodgate, chairperson of Green Room.
“It’s a Holiday Inn you’ll want to check into, where everything is solved by a gorgeous song or a great tap dance routine!
Holiday Inn has been called an endorphin assault, inducing a warm-bath pleasure like no other show since 42nd Street.”
For tickets call the Wyllyotts box office on 01707 645005 or visit www.wyllyottstheatre.co.uk
The story, as suggested by the title, goes through an entire year, highlighting all the major holidays from Thanksgiving to the Fourth of July.
It follows singer-songwriter Jim Hardy, who surprises his best friend Ted, and fiancée Lila, by leaving the bright lights of Broadway for a new life on a farm in Connecticut.
But Jim soon finds that life just isn't the same without a bit of song and dance. His luck takes a spectacular turn when he meets Linda, a spirited schoolteacher with talent to spare.
Together they transform the farmhouse into the Holiday Inn, a fabulous venue with dazzling performances to celebrate every holiday in the calendar. Will Jim’s shot at happiness be foiled when Ted tries to lure Linda to Hollywood to be his new dance partner, or will love prevail?
If you have seen the musical White Christmas you might wonder how the same song occurs in two musicals. The answer is that 'White Christmas' first featured in the 1942 film Holiday Inn and was such a hit that Paramount Pictures created an entire musical around it in its movie White Christmas of 1954.
But while this movie was turned into a stage musical in 2004, Holiday Inn wasn’t turned into a stage musical until 2014. Holiday Inn has yet to receive a professional premiere in the UK, but has recently been released to amateur theatre companies.
Alastair said: “We are thrilled to be the first amateur theatre company in the UK to present Holiday Inn, reinforcing our reputation for staging the newer musicals and for giving older musicals a fresh, new look.
"This show has been described as 'a postcard to 1946' but with a revitalised script, this stage show has more heart, a more modern sensibility and a joyful spirit. Rehearsals have certainly been joyful, and we’re excited that theatre lovers in Hertfordshire will be among the first to see this show in the UK, at the Wyllyotts Theatre.”
Matt Greenbank, who plays Jim Hardy, added: “Irving Berlin is the father of the Great American Songbook.
"He had a way of writing the most hummable melodies that speak to everybody. His songs don’t tell us things that divide us, they tell us things that hold us together.”
Holly Macer takes on the role of Linda Mason. Holly said: “This is an updated retelling of a timeless classic, capturing the innocence of Hollywood’s Golden Age. In taking us on a tour through a year of holidays, it is perfect, as Irving Berlin’s song says, for 'Shaking the Blues Away'.”
Elliot Moore, who plays Ted Hanover, added: “With dazzling dance routines featuring wheelbarrows, Christmas garlands and firecrackers, it’s great fun to perform and, we hope, will be a joy to watch.”
And, for those wondering, yes, the Holiday Inn hotel chain was inspired by the title of the fictional Connecticut inn that gives the show its name.
Mark your calendar for Green Room’s production of Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn. The show runs at the Wyllyotts Theatre, off Darkes Lane, from Tuesday, October 31 to Saturday, November 4 at 7.30pm, with a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm.
The Saturday evening performance is BSL interpreted.
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