![]() ![]() ![]() Jim deploys “It’s a Lovely Day Today” (from 1950’s Call Me Madam) to illustrate the charms of the farm to show-bizzy Lila, who then breaks their engagement. “Heat Wave” (from 1933’s As Thousands Cheer) is yet another generic production number for Ted. “Marching Along with Time” (1938) permits Jim and Linda to meet cute, as each struggles with the inevitability of change. Gone also is “I Can’t Tell a Lie.” Perhaps they meant to drown or swamp the audience with Irving Berlin songs? But shoe-horned into the plot are “Steppin’ Out With My Baby” (from Easter Parade) as a generic Act 1 opening, “The Little Things in Life,” (1930) which allows Jim Hardy to pine for a simple life in the country. Greenberg and Hodge have wisely excised Bing Crosby’s blackface tribute to Lincoln, “Abraham,” yet fleshed out the script with eight more Berlin songs. Scene from the 2016 “Holiday Inn” with Corbin Bleu and Lora Lee Gayer. Their stumbling through mutual attraction is often endearing, and together they nearly save the show. Apart from stealing Jim Hardy’s girlfriends twice, we begin to wonder if he’s capable of anything more? Surprisingly, only the show’s two romantic leads, Bryce Pinkham (as Jim Hardy) and Lora Lee Gayer (as former farm-owner Linda Mason) prove capable of making the awkward boy-meets-girl relationship seem either interesting or real. Bleu smiles a lot and then a lot more, again. Dancing with the Stars and High School Musical veteran Corbin Bleu is tasked with filling Fred Astaire’s dancing shoes as Ted Hanover, which assignment he does with nimble aplomb. Or the Mason Farm Miss Fix-It (the much-talented Megan Lawrence) who’s compelled to squeak like Minnie Mouse. There’s the smart-ass kid Charlie Winslow (Morgan Gao), whose adult wisecracks and savvy insight should be fun, but prove mostly irritating. There’s the crass, gum-chewing dumb blond, Jim’s fiancée, Lila Dixon (Megan Sikora) who’s never as funny as she should be. With a generic style one might label “musical comedy 101,” Greenberg has directed his talented cast to go for the obvious. Greenberg and Chad Hodge’s dialogue is often downright silly or corny when imagination or wit demand better. While there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the basic idea of transferring Holiday Inn from film to stage, raiding Irving Berlin’s catalogue to create a festive song stack celebrating the Great American Song Book, real problems arise from the pedestrian execution.Ĭredit director and co-librettist Gordon Greenberg with improbable plot choices and absurd transitions that beggar credibility, even by the hoary conventions of musical comedy. You can also expect to hear the film’s chestnuts “Let’s Start the New Year Right,” “You’re Easy to Dance With,” “Be Careful, It’s My Heart,” “Happy Holiday” and more. As a morale builder during World War II, Irving Berlin offered a baker’s dozen songs old (“Blue Skies”) and new (“White Christmas”) thematically tied to a calendar of holidays. The film’s concept derived from an abandoned revue project of Berlin’s from 1939. When the farm starts to fail, Ted Hanover and his friends pitch in to save the day: “Hey kids, let’s put on a show!” Jim Hardy’s inn opened to the public for holiday weekend trade. Promotional poster for the 1942 movie “Holiday Inn.”Įven if you can’t recall Marjorie Reynolds or Virginia Dale in the distaff roles, you’ll likely know the story of Jim Hardy quitting show business to run a farm in Midville, Connecticut.
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