White Christmas, WAOS - Rhombus

White Christmas by Witham Amateur Operatic Society Review

November 1, 2025

The Halloween season is finished and what a more perfect way to start November, than with a classic musical set at Christmas brought to us by the talented WAOS!

White Christmas is a classic musical based on the 1957 movie of the same name. Set after the war, two soldiers have a successful talent show. Once they find a group of sisters, they end up at a ski lodge in Vermont. Together they put on a Christmas talent show to save the lodge from potential problems. I was very excited to see WAOS take this musical to stage after watching other fantastic productions from them. Gerald Hindes is the musical director for this piece and was brilliant! He was able to bring the Irving Berlin music to life and should be incredible proud of his work! Similarly, Nikki Mundell-Poole directs this Christmas show very well! She clearly understands the charm and wit which goes into the original White Christmas film and brought this to stage in Witham brilliantly!

The set and lighting were perfectly done for this piece, and the added Christmas trees on the side of the stage made it feel very magical! The use of lighting to add projections helped to transport us to each individual location effectively. Similarly, the costumes were spot on and gave off the Christmas magic you would expect from this show. The group of dancers were phenomenal, showing great choreography from Nikki Mundell-Poole. Moreover, the ensemble looked to be having great fun on stage which helped the audience feel part of their world! As supporting cast, they were all fantastic and helped to sell the story.

Olivia Reynolds plays Susan and is great at delivering both her innocence and fun attitude. She does incredibly well to match the energy of the adults in the show. Corrina Groombridge plays Martha, who sings a fabulous song in the first act. Groombridge’s presence of stage is very strong and she is a believable ex performer: giving a great performance. David Slater plays General Henry who gives a stern and keen performance. He is very likeable as the General and really seems to understand his dynamics with other key characters.

Sarah Miles plays Judy, a fun loving girl who is ready for stardom. Miles’s dancing was phenomenal, being confident within her partnership with fellow actor. I especially liked her jumping catch which was incredibly impressive. Amy Marsh plays Betty, the more level headed sister. Marsh’s personality as Betty was spot on: very akin to the movie. Her singing voice was delightful to listen to and her dynamic with Paul Flynn was great. Nick Skinner plays Phil, the ladies man who tricks his partner into going to Vermont. Nick also does fantastic dancing with fellow actor Miles, as well as having a brilliant voice. He is able to make a very likeable Phil and was very fun to watch! But the stand out performance for me was Paul Flynn as Bob Wallace. His singing, especially in his solo songs, was amazing. He was so good at bringing the character from film to stage and looked like he was having a fantastic time!

I’m thrilled to watch WAOS next performance of Jesus Christ Superstar and The Great British Bake Off later next year! I hope all of the WAOS company have a wonderful Christmas! If you can manage to grab a ticket before closing, you must watch!

Max