Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn

Happy holidays! Check into the tuneful world-premiere musical about a Connecticut farmhouse transformed into a jubilant nightspot — but only on holidays. From Valentine’s Day to the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving to Christmas, expect a cornucopia of hit songs by Irving Berlin in a dance-dizzy romance based on the classic film that first starred Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby. Raise a glass of cheer to “Happy Holiday,” “Easter Parade,” “Be Careful, It’s My Heart” and more of the world’s greatest show tunes.

The Universal film classic Holiday Inn was released during the height of the musical film craze. This beloved movie musical further launched the careers of the tap-happy Fred Astaire and the sentimental baritone Bing Crosby. All of the songs were written by Irving Berlin, who is often considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history. The film received three Academy Award nominations and one Oscar for Best Original Song. Upon its release, Holiday Inn was the most commercially successful film musical of all time. Paramount Studios called upon this winning cinematic formula twelve years later as White Christmas, another film featuring all Irving Berlin songs, was made using the same set as Holiday Inn.