Choreographer Kelli Barclay has been involved with nearly a dozen Goodspeed shows. She was the associate choreographer for “Lucky in the Rain” in 1997, “George M!” in 2000, and “The Will Rogers Follies” in 2018. In 2011, she choreographed both “My One and Only” at the Goodspeed Opera House and “Hello My Baby!” at Goodspeed’s Terris Theater in Chester. Her high-water mark might’ve been the exhilaratingly long, full ensemble tap dance that ended the first act of “Anything Goes” at the Goodspeed Opera House in 2016.
“White Christmas” is a show that’s particularly close to Barclay’s dance-beating heart. She was the associate choreographer and dance captain as well as a swing performer in the original Broadway production in 2009. Now she’s choreographing the production running at the Goodspeed Opera House from Nov. 14 through Dec. 28.
It was Goodspeed artistic director Donna Lynn Hilton who invited Barclay back after the Goodspeed’s scheduled premiere of a stage adaptation of the TV movie “Mrs. Santa Clause” was canceled.
“Donna Lynn said ‘I want you to have your own White Christmas,’” said Barclay, who is being teamed with director Hunter Foster for the production. Foster’s previous holiday shows for Goodspeed Musicals include “A Christmas Story” and “A Connecticut Christmas Carol.”
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“We had to hustle,” Barclay said. The prep time was shortened since they were replacing a canceled show. “I’m so glad Hunter is directing. He’s a great director.”
“White Christmas” is one of those shows that feels like a timeless Broadway musical from the 1930s, but it’s not. It was a 1954 movie starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney, evoking the classic Hollywood musicals of the ‘30s and ‘40s. It didn’t become a stage show until 2000, when The Muny — a St. Louis, Missouri theater also dedicated to American musical theater classics, revivals and new works — held its world premiere with Barclay assisting choreographer Randy Skinner. When The Muny revived its production of “White Christmas” in 2006, Barclay was the choreographer recreating Skinner’s earlier work.
Besides the classic title song, the hit Irving Berlin songs in the stage version of “White Christmas” include “Let Yourself Go,” “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy,” “Blue Skies,” “I Love a Piano,” “How Deep is the Ocean” and “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.”
The cast of the new Goodspeed Musicals production of “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” in rehearsal. (Diane Sobolewski)
Barclay explained that there are many differences between the original film version of “White Christmas” and its stage adaptation. “When people think of the movie, they might think of the song ‘Choreography,’ which is not in this musical. The big dance number at the end of act one is ‘Blue Skies,’ which is not in the movie.”
Barclay finds audiences to be completely on board with the stage musical. “Nobody ever says ‘That wasn’t in the movie!’ It’s different. The orchestrations and the live dancing have really opened it up. The book is as lively as it can be. And can you get any better than dancing in the snow?”
The special challenges of working on the Goodspeed Opera House stage are also a factor, but Barclay has much more experience working there on that small, tight stage than most choreographers.
“I have my own way of working around that,” she said. “I have the dancers learn from inside their bodies then bring that to the stage so they are already comfortable doing the full movements. It can be astounding.”
The Goodspeed cast features Omar Lopez-Cepero (from the theater’s acclaimed production of “South Pacific”), Lauren Nicole Chapman (who toured through Connecticut in “Kinky Boots” a decade ago), Clyde Alves, Jonaly Saxer, Sofie Nesaneli, Bruce Sabath and a sizeable supporting ensemble.
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The Goodspeed production is not a radical rethinking of “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” but the culmination of what Barclay has learned through all the previous productions and tours of the show she has worked on.
“We’re not reinventing the wheel here. We’re making it fit the Goodspeed stage and putting our own stamp on it. From the beginning, there were really no big problems putting this show together. It did so well on tour. It’s Americana,” Barkley said.
“It’s such a happy time to work, at Christmastime,” she added. “This is just a joy. I prefer the shows that bring joy.” So she is dreaming of a “White Christmas?”
“I sure am,” she said. “This is a little jewel box of joy fulfilled.”
“Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” runs Nov. 14 through Dec. 28 at the Goodspeed Opera House, 6 Main St., East Haddam. Performances are Wednesdays at 2 and 7:30 p.m., Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 and 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 and 6:30 p.m. There are added Tuesday performances on Dec. 23 and 30 at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; 2 p.m. matinees on Nov. 28 and Dec. 4, 18 and 26. There is no 6:30 p.m. performance on Dec. 21 or 7:30 p.m. performances on Dec. 24 and 31 and no performances on Dec. 25. $35-$91. goodspeed.org.