By 
White Christmas’ Mara Davi, David Elder, James Clow, Stefanie Morse / Sharon Sipple, 2012
Wear sunglasses as you enter the Kennedy Center Opera House for Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. Otherwise you might be blinded by the decked-out crowds, dressed head to toe in red suits and sparkling Christmas sweater sets.
It’s a festive occasion: the seasonal entrance of a classic film-made-musical that includes beloved tunes like “Blue Skies,” “Happy Holiday,” “Snow,” and of course “White Christmas.” Fortunately for audience members young and old alike, no one near me wore distracting jingle bell earrings, although a few people came awfully close with light up, Rudolph nose cuff links.
Also fortunate for us, the crowd’s costumes didn’t outdo the show we were about to see. White Christmas at the Kennedy Center is wondrous spectacle of a bygone era—an era that never really existed, but is at least an incredibly happy place.