'White Christmas' no holiday treat

The production number that begins the second act of “Irving Berlin's White Christmas” illustrates everything right and everything wrong about this show, which opened Thursday at Chicago's Bank of America Theatre.

On the plus side, is the song the jaunty “I Love a Piano,” one of several Berlin classics featured in this adaptation of the 1954 film musical starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen. There's the tireless ensemble, tapping their hearts out performing Randy Skinner's solid but unsurprising choreography.

Then there's the piano. A quarter-scale version of a baby grand, it's insufficient even for this stage. The result is a number that feels small, unsubstantial, which pretty much sums up the entirety of this unremarkable show which is rather less than it could be.

Don't blame Berlin. The swinging score boasts tunes like “The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing” and “Blue Skies,” along with truly lovely ballads like “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep” and “Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me.” And don't blame the cast. They sing and dance their hearts out.

No, the fault for this underwhelming show rests with Paul Blake and David Ives's hokey, ham-fisted book and Norb Joerder's perfunctory direction.

To be fair, “White Christmas” isn't very deep, but it needn't be this shallow. But for a few detours, the show follows the plot of the film, in which World War II army buddies Bob Wallace (John Scherer) and Phil Davis (Denis Lambert) find postwar success as a song-and-dance duo. They meet a pair of singing sisters, Betty (Amy Bodnar) and Judy Haynes (Shannon M. O'Bryan), and the entire quartet winds up at a Vermont inn owned by Bob and Phil's former commander, General Henry Waverly (Erick Devine).

Unseasonably warm weather and no guests has forced the general into bankruptcy. Bob and Phil intend to save him by putting on a show in his barn with assistance from the inn's manager and former Broadway baby Martha (Ruth Williamson), and Susan (Mary Peeples), the general's precocious granddaughter. Of course, misunderstanding and miscommunication ensue, but all is resolved as the snow begins to fall.

Sherer and Bodnar are strong singers. Bodnar's lush voice is especially well suited to the torchy, “Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me.” And Lambert and the perky O'Bryan duet nicely in multiple dance numbers. But such spare bright spots are just not enough to heat up this tepid show.