Irving Berlin's 'Holiday Inn' - Original Broadway Cast Recording

The 1942 film, "Holiday Inn," starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, is the latest musical featuring the music of Irving Berlin to be adapted for the Broadway stage, and the cast recording has now been released on Ghostlight Records.

Bryce Pinkham ("Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder") and Corbin Bleu ("Disney's High School Musical") assume the roles played by Crosby and Astaire, respectively, and bring with them a pair of entertaining singing voices to the slew of famous songs that carry the thin plot of "Holiday Inn." Director Gordon Greenberg (with Chad Hodge) started with the film version, and created a book that does its best to substantiate the holiday-themed songs that Berlin composed for the original, and with new arrangements from Andy Einhorn (musical director), Sam Davis, Larry Blank and Bruce Pomahac, has given audiences an evening that uses the story of a performer (Pinkham) who decides to open an inn, but only on holidays, for visitors while his best friend (Bleu), also a performer, continues his pursuit of fame as a partner to Lila Dixon (Megan Sikora). The following of one's dreams, interspersed with catchy melodies, ensue, and everyone lives happily ever after.

The score includes two of Berlin's most famous songs: "Easter Parade" (featuring Bleu and Lora Lee Gayer), which Berlin interpolated directly from using it in "As Thousands Cheer," and the classic standard, "White Christmas" (featuring Pinkham and Gayer), which became the surprise chart-topper when the original was released. Other tunes given the Broadway treatment here include "Steppin' Out With My Baby," "Shakin' the Blues Away" (sung by Megan Lawrence), "Heat Wave," and a medley of the title song and "Happy Holiday."

Nothing deep to contemplate, and filled with a slew of singable tunes, "Holiday Inn" is a light-on-the-ears listen that will bring back memories to those who recall the film and will familiarize those not with exposure to one of America's most famous 20th-century composers.

"Holiday Inn (2017 Broadway Cast Recording)"
$14.99
CD and digital formats
www.ghostlightrecords.com