“White Christmas” Co-Star Makes Debut, And Homecoming, At Rock Island’s Circa 21
Claire McPartland has never done a show at Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse, Rock Island, but she feels like she’s home.
Co-starring as Betty Haynes in the new production of “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas,” the Minneapolis native has fond memories of spending the holidays at the home of her maternal grandparents, Chuck and JoAnn Harrington of DeWitt, Iowa (both now deceased).
“My grandma passed away earlier this year, so it’s really special for me right now,” McPartland said Thursday morning in an interview at Circa. “I came to Circa as a kid, so it was a treat when we got to drive here and see the theater. I saw ‘Hairspray’ here, and remember seeing all the dancers and thinking, ‘God, I want to do that one day’.”
Her grandparents were very supportive of her music and theater, coming to see her perform in high school in Minneapolis.
Brynne Davidson (left), Kiera Lynn, Bobby Becher, Sarah Beth Ganey, Savannah Rhodes, and Elly Rebeka.
“I know they would have loved this show,” McPartland said of “White Christmas.” “It’s really special for me to be here now. I’m definitely missing them; they’ve been on my mind a lot. This feels like home.”
They always spent Christmas in DeWitt (about 40 minutes north of Rock Island), but would come see Circa shows more over the summer time.
“This is a beautiful place to be for Christmas,” McPartland said. “It feels so comfy.”
Among several regional acting credits, the New York City-based actress has worked at two other dinner theaters – in Jackson Hole, Wyo., and another near Dayton, Ohio. She’s a 2020 graduate of Kenyon College in Ohio.
When she moved to New York after school, she was intimidated to be thrust into the acting world. Most people think actors are very confident, which McPartland feels is not true.
The cast of “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas,” running through Dec. 28, 2025 at Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse.
“I think most of us are really terrified all the time,” she said. “That’s because we want to do really, really good work and we hold ourselves to really high standards. Everyone thinks their training isn’t enough.”
Every time she comes to a place like Circa, with the immense variety of backgrounds of the actors, “we’re all here and we’re all scared,” McPartland said. “We’re all working so hard and we just want to do good work and want people to love the show.”
Based on iconic holiday film
Running now through Dec. 28, this Tony-nominated treat featuring timeless hits such as “Blue Skies,” “Happy Holiday,” “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy,” “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” and the beloved title song.
In the story (based on the 1954 film), World War II veterans and best pals Bob Wallace and Phil Davis have become partners in a song-and-dance act after returning from overseas. Looking for love, they follow the duo of beautiful singing sisters Betty and Judy Haynes to a gig at a lodge in Vermont, only to discover that the nearly bankrupt lodge where they were hired to perform is owned by their former commander General Waverly.
The Irving Berlin score boasts such cherished numbers as “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep,” “Sisters,” and “How Deep Is the Ocean.”
The cast of “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas,” running through Dec. 28, 2025 at Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse.
As with the last time it was produced at Circa ’21 in 2022, the theatre’s latest rendition of “White Christmas” is being directed and choreographed by venue veteran Ashley Becher, whose previous productions for the Rock Island venue include “The Addams Family,” “A Christmas Story: The Musical” and this past summer’s “Chicago.”
Area favorite Ron May serves as the show’s musical director and among the many admired Circa ’21 talents in the cast, Kyle DeFauw (“Chicago,” “Disney’s Beauty & the Beast”) and Bobby Becher (“Come from Away” and “Jersey Boys”) reprise their respective 2022 roles as song-and-dance men Bob Wallace and Phil Davis.
Claire McPartland and Sarah Beth Ganey portray singing sisters Betty and Judy Haynes, Paul Gregory Nelson plays General Waverly and the ensemble is completed by Brynne Davidson; Topher Elliott; Hanna Marie Felver; Sarah Hayes; John Henderson; A.C. Lam; Kiera Lynn; Gregory Naman; Elly Rebeka; Savannah Rhodes; Elena Skadal; Dace Sommer; Samuel Sommer and Tristan Tapscott.
People come to “White Christmas” with pre-conceived expectations, including from the movie starring Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney.
“I ultimately hope we’re being as honest and truthful, and that will be more of a rewarding experience for them, rather than copying and pasting something that’s already been done,” McPartland said. “Just deliver the best possible production, every element of it, that we can.”
The industry is really a chaotic free-for-all, a crapshoot, she said.
Claire McPartland, based in New York City, is a Minneapolis native and 2020 graduate of Kenyon College in Ohio.
“It’s like being unemployed all the time, constantly applying for jobs, having to constantly remind yourself that you are good enough,” McPartland said. “It’s a matter of resilience and perseverance.”
It’s frustrating to have so much out of your control, but that makes the thrill of landing a show all the more intense and satisfying, she said.
“Then I get to meet people like this I would never have met in a million, bajillion years, and here we are sharing this experience together, and I’m so grateful,” McPartland said. “It’s not for the weak of heart, but we’re all here, choosing to do it, and that’s a really beautiful thing.”
It takes tremendous grit and courage to perform in this life, including working on crew.
“Every single person who’s touching this production is competent and kind and hard-working,” she said.
“Being scared means you care”
McPartland is not over being terrified, recalling an old soccer coach who told her, “Being scared means you care…I always welcome a little bit of fear, but what’s really important for me to hold in my mind is, that I am capable and I’ve built up a lot of skills.”
McPartland has never done “White Christmas” before and noted it’s “such a pleasure” working with Kyle DeFauw (who co-stars as Betty’s love interest Bob), and the entire cast and crew. She’s the only performer in the show (aside from the two girls alternating as Susan) making her Circa debut.
“It’s a little bit intimidating,” McPartland said. “They know each other and a fair number of them have done this show before. It’s a little intimidating situation to walk into, but everyone has been so welcoming. Just considering how fast a process this is (13 days rehearsal), to have people who have done it before and can approach the material with a certain confidence and familiarity, it supports the entire group.”
Tristan Layne Tapscott (left), Bobby Becher, Kyle DeFauw, and Paul Gregory Nelson.
“On top of that, I feel Kyle has been super flexible in letting me potentially bring something new to the table,” she said.
Most actors start the rehearsal process at Circa already memorized (“off book”).
This is Circa’s fifth production of “White Christmas,” following 2002, 2008, 2009 and 2022. Again directed and choreographed by Ashley Becher, returning cast members from ’22 include DeFauw, Bobby Becher, Sarah Hayes and Tristan Tapscott.
“I did not show up off book, since every theater is a little different,” McPartland said. “Everyone is very flexible and accommodating to your individual process. Not once have I felt pressures or pushed or rushed by anybody here. Everyone is uplifting one another. With such a fast process, you have to be ready to lock in, and live and breathe the show. As an actor, that’s such a gift – to dive into material, get it into your body as fast as you can.
“I did not even know these people two weeks ago,” she added. “It’s crazy, and now we’re up here doing this show, this very intimate thing together. It’s such a wild and crazy thing we do, but it’s so much fun.”
McPartland exclaimed how amazed she is at the full ensemble, as ultimate triple threats in singing, dancing and acting, including the big, extended group dance scenes.
“Ashley’s choreography is so clever, and thorough and beautiful and exciting, and our ensemble has been working, up at the actor house at midnight, reviewing their tap, wanting it to the best it can be,” she said. “It’s insane, it’s a miracle.”
Back again as “jerk” Bob
DeFauw is from Davenport, a 2022 graduate of St. Ambrose University, returning to the role of Bob Wallace, from Circa’s 2022 cast. Other Circa credits include “Beauty and the Beast” (Beast); “Clue: the Musical” (Mr. Green); “Murder on the Orient Express” (Monsieur Bouc); “Miracle on 34th Street” (Fred Gailey) and several ensemble roles.
DeFauw said Thursday one challenge coming back to “White Christmas” is that his character doesn’t start out as likable.
“He just comes across as rude,” DeFauw said, noting Bob is curmudgeonly. “He’s kind of Scrooge. He’s being this jerk, and later on in the show, he’s having fun. We try to lighten it up and bring the cheerful attitude out.”
“It’s a lot of fun to play him and make him the person he should be,” he said. “It’s a great production.”
DeFauw is loving pairing again with Bobby Becher as Phil, bringing back old things they liked from the last production. “We’re finding some more things and being really playful with each other,” he said.
McPartland plays Betty, Bob’s eventual love interest, but said they play hard to get at first, being scared of a true romantic connection. He’s surprised by how great and gorgeous she is.
“She’s a little uptight – the older sister, and I’m an older sister,” she said of real life. “I relate to her in a lot of ways, in wanting everything to be under control, wanting everything to go a certain way, look a certain way. She has a bit of a wall up – God forbid she falls in love and loses control.”
Claire McPartland and Kyle DeFauw play Betty Haynes and Bob Wallace in Circa ’21’s new production of “White Christmas.”
Falling in love is a new feeling for Betty, McPartland said. “I think throughout the show, she ultimately surrenders to it and realizes that’s a risk worth taking, a life worth living.”
Judy is much more silly and playful, and Betty is more keeping things in line, she said. Bob has a wall up as well, that Betty helps bring down.
DeFauw said it’s refreshing to see the new actresses take on the sisters’ roles, after he did it in 2022.
“You discover more things within your character as well, seeing what their intention is,” he said. “It’s great.”
What’s their biggest sense of satisfaction?
“For me, when you finally find that genuine connection with the people you work with on stage,” DeFauw said. “It’s strange to describe, honestly. When you finally feel that scene, that moment, that connection come together – it’s kind of euphoric.”
“It doesn’t have to be the person you’re playing across, it could be anyone,” he said. “When you find those moments, our jobs as actors, as performers, is to connect – to drive that story, and connecting with the audience as well. It’s all about connection and to find that, you feel satisfied as a performer, as an actor…It’s a wonderful feeling.”
“It’s the audience reception, and seeing how audiences are affected and touched,” McPartland said. She recently did the play “The Outsiders” at a theater in Nebraska, with several student matinees, where they had talkbacks after the show.
“That was such an important experience for me to have as an actor in my career,” she said. “To have a conversation with young people; and they were all reading that book in their class at the time. It was a very fruitful discussion.”
“We are living in a super crazy, wild world right now, where any place you can salvage some kind of connection is worth holding onto, and I think the theater is a really powerful vessel for that,” McPartland said.
The cast of “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas,” running through Dec. 28, 2025 at Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse.
Theater also offers a distraction or refuge, where people can forget about their own troubles for a few hours.
“If we can give people that opportunity, that’s our job,” she said.
The last two musicals she did was in Jimmy Buffett’s “Escape to Margaritaville,” and she’s glad to switch gears, doing this classic musical.
“Especially this time of year, to do such a classic, so I’m happy to be here doing this musical,” she said.
DeFauw is much more confident now versus three years ago, when “White Christmas” was just his third show after graduating, following “Beauty and the Beast” and “Clue” (which was right before, with last performances and daytime rehearsals at the same time).
“First time, I felt anxious quite a bit, since I was green,” he said. “I was trying to bring a warmth to this character…discovering that more and more has been such a pleasure, especially with Ashley. She does such a great job communicating that, with her actors.”
“It was difficult to do that, especially jumping right out college,” DeFauw said. “I’m so blessed to be able to do that and have a place like this so close to where I grew up.”
“White Christmas” will run at Circa ’21 through Dec. 28, with performances on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 5:30 p.m. and Wednesday matinées at 1:15 p.m. Pre-show entertainment featuring the theatre’s waitstaff the Bootleggers will also precede all performances.
Tickets are $70 for the Friday – Sunday dinner-and-show productions and $63 for the Wednesday shows. Reduced prices for students, seniors, and groups of 12 or more are also available.
Reservations are available through the Circa ’21 ticket office, 1828 3rd Ave., Rock Island or by calling 309-786-7733 ext. 2. You can also visit circa21.com to reserve your seats online.
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