Countdown to White Christmas, Empire

The stage musical based on the classic 1954 movie White Christmas is just four weeks away from appearing at the Empire Theatre.

The production revisits the Northwest following an appearance at The Lowry in 2009 and appears in Liverpool for 20 performances this December.

Singer, actor, radio and TV presenter Aled Jones will return to the role of Bob Wallace, a character he first played at the venue in Salford Quays.

The international dance performer of stage and screen Adam Cooper (Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, Billy Elliott The Movie as well as On Your Toes and Guys and Dolls in London’s West End and principal dancer at the Royal Ballet) joins Jones in returning to the role of Phil Davis, the other half of the song and dance duo.

With an ensemble of over 30 and a 17 piece orchestra, the Empire said the musical promises to be a merry and bright theatrical experience for the whole family.

The musical features songs such as “Blue Skies”, “How Deep is the Ocean”, “Happy Holiday”, “Sisters” and of course the unforgettable title song “White Christmas”, and tells the story of two buddies putting on a show in a magical Vermont inn, and finding their perfect mates in the process.

Irving Berlin’s White Christmas The Musical was first brought to the UK stage in 2006 by the producers of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, appearing at the Plymouth Theatre Royal and The Mayflower Theatre Southampton. In 2007 it broke box office records at the Edinburgh Playhouse and Wales Millennium Centre. It also played to sold out houses at the Marquis Theatre on Broadway (outselling Wicked) for the holiday season 2008/2009.

White Christmas replaces the planned festive pantomime, Snow White as the Empire’s festive show for the year and runs from 22 December 2011 to 7 January 2012.