MLT brings 'White Christmas' to stage

Nov. 30—Driving to and from Muskogee helps Tulsa residents Madalene Steichen and Kaley Jobe with their "Sisters" act for Muskogee Little Theatre.

"We drive together, so that kind of develops our bonding time," Steichen said.

The two play sister performers Betty and Judy Haynes in MLT's holiday production, "White Christmas," which opens this weekend and runs through Dec. 10.

The musical is based on the 1954 movie "White Christmas," which focuses on two war buddies who become big performers. They meet up with two sisters singing at a night club and the rest is 'Happy Holiday' history.

"The show is finding the right people for you," cast member Nicholas Winterrowd said. "It's about coming together in the right circumstances."

Winterrowd landed the Bob Wallace part, which Bing Crosby played in the movie.

"It's difficult to toe the line between do I play it like Bing, do I do it my own way, do I do sort of a mixture," he said. "I try to throw in touches like Bing, like maybe some crooning or delivery of lines. Mostly, we've taken the script in an interesting direction, that's like a new take on the character."

Steichen said her character, Betty, involves "a lot of character work."

"Working with my counterpart, Bob, in the show has been a lot of tough work, but I think we're at a place that is really good, and I'm really excited about that," she said. "Also the solo song, 'Love — You Didn't do Right By Me,' working on that and bringing it up to par because it is such an iconic song."

Rosemary Clooney played Betty in the movie.

Jobe said all the quick changes have been a challenge "because Judy dances a lot, since it's Vera Ellen's character."

"For Judy, it's a very athletic show," said Jobe, who has danced since she was a child. "When I'm not dancing, I'm stage changing."

Dancing also proved a challenge for Braden Clapp, who plays partner Phil Davis, the movie's Danny Kaye part.

"I don't have a lot of dance training," Clapp said. "I'm an OK mover, but I wouldn't consider myself a world-class dancer. My character in the show does a lot of dancing. There's a lot of choreography in the show that challenges a different part of my brain I don't always get to use when I perform in shows."

Director Tommy Cummings said the play features more singing and dancing than the movie.

"We try to keep it as classic as we can, but we put our own humor into it," he said. "We try to find things within the story."

The production has a cast of 40 people, including children, teen ensemble dancers and adult ensemble dancers, Cummings said.

Jobe said that, while the story is different, the show retains such movie favorites as "Sisters," "Snow" and "White Christmas," plus other Irving Berlin numbers.

"There are other new numbers in there that are so much fun, like 'Falling Out of Love,' which is a great little trio," she said.