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The musical adaptation of Irvin Berlin's "White Christmas" is a gift that keeps on giving, says Lorna Luft.

Luft, of course, is the daughter of Judy Garland and Sid Luft, who made her show-business debut at age 11, singing "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" on her mother's CBS TV show. She built a career acting and singing in Broadway and touring shows, as well as TV roles, and performed concert and cabaret shows.

Eleven years ago, she created the role of the brassy Martha Watson in the British tour of the stage musical, which she reprised in a regional production and national tours. After a four-year break, she's returned to the role, which plays in Salt Lake City Dec. 6-11 at downtown's Eccles Theater.

The musical plays as an old Hollywood movie onstage, Luft says. "It's a great honor to be a part of a show that is really a part of American history," she says, noting her mother's friendship with Rosemary Clooney, who played Betty Haynes, one of the sister-act stars of the original 1954 film. "That's why this show is so special to me."

Fans of the iconic 1954 film (which also starred Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen) will find Luft's busybody housekeeper character has been recast. Martha Watson still runs the Vermont inn and takes care of owner General Henry Waverly, but she has also acquired a backstory: She's a retired show-business performer.

"She's a big-voiced, larger-than-life character," Luft says of Martha. In the first act, her character leads a big number, "Let Me Sing and I'm Happy," which Luft looks forward to singing and dancing every night, praising the choreography of director Randy Skinner. "I've got boys behind me, and it's a pizazz number."

Another highlight comes in the second act, when Luft sings "Falling Out of Love Can Be Fun," with the sister act of Judy (Kelly Sheehan) and Betty (Kerry Conte) in three-part harmony. "I've always been lucky enough to do the show with great Judys and Bettys," Luft says.

The musical follows the familiar story from the film, focusing on two former military buddies, now playboys and show-biz stars, who put on a show at a Vermont inn to help out their former general. Along the way, they find their perfect mates. Beyond the title number, some of the show's iconic songs are "Sisters," "Happy Holidays" and "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep."

But the stage adaptation also includes other great Irving Berlin songs, such as "I Love a Piano." The movie includes "Blue Skies" as a part of a medley, but the song gets a fuller treatment as the first act's finale in the musical. Another added highlight of the musical is the finale, "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm," a tap number done in the style of ice skating.

"You can't miss with an Irving Berlin score," Skinner says, adding that finding songs in the Berlin catalog that would flesh out the musical was one of the pleasures of working on the adaptation.

"White Christmas" is a big flashy show with 27 performers and dance numbers that include tap, jazz and ballroom. Each dance has its own arc, as well as fitting into the show's overall arc, says Skinner, who choreographed the original show and has directed the tour for three years.

As a songwriter, Berlin understood rhythm. "That's why he's such a danceable composer," Skinner says. "He really got into the mindset and the skin of a dancer."

The musical adaptation was written by David Ives and Paul Blake based on the 1954 screenplay by Norman Krasna, Norman Panama and Melvin Frank, and might be familiar to Utah theatergoers from productions at Pioneer Theatre Company and Park City's Egyptian Theatre.

The musical opened in San Francisco in 2004 and played several sit-down runs around the country before it played on Broadway in 2008 and 2009, where Skinner's choreography received a Tony Award nomination.

Skinner has never been in Utah, but he has local theater ties. In 2010, he choreographed the West End production of the musical "Lend Me a Tenor," written by Brad Carroll and Peter Sham based on the popular play by Ken Ludwig, which premiered at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in 2007.

Speaking of USF, Utah theatergoers should watch for Aaron Galligan-Stierle in the ensemble of "White Christmas," as the actor performed for several seasons at the Cedar City theater company.

Back to Luft, who made show-business headlines earlier this year when she did something in public she vowed she'd never do. At the Stonewall Inn during New York's Pride festival, she sang Garland's signature number, "Over the Rainbow," 47 years after her mother's death. She chose the song to remember the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting.

"There was no other song that I thought would really befit a situation of saying 'We will find hope one day,' " she says. "Will I ever sing it again? I don't know. That could have been it."

She's proud of her mother's legacy, which she honors every time she sings "White Christmas" songs and remembers Garland and Clooney. "I'm extraordinarily proud to be her daughter, proud to come from a show-business family that has a very good work ethic." —

Merry and bright

The national touring show "White Christmas" plays at downtown Salt Lake City's Eccles Theater.

When • Tuesday-Thursday, Dec. 6-8, 7:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, Dec. 9-10, 8 p.m.; matinee Saturday, Dec. 10, 2 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 11, 1 and 6:30 p.m.

Where • Eccles Theater, 131 S. Main St., Salt Lake City

Tickets • $40-$80 (with additional $12 fees), 801-355- ARTS, arttix.org or the Eccles box office

Running time • Two hours and 20 minutes, with one intermission