By DON FOWLER

What could be merrier and brighter than a good old-fashioned musical with 17 Irving Berlin songs performed by an energetic, talented cast?

Ocean State Theatre is aglow with a cast of over two dozen singers and dancers who pay tribute to one of the greatest songwriters of the past century. OSTC’s founding member, Joel Kipper, and New York actor Nate Suggs are Phil and Bob, World War II veterans who go on to a successful career as song and dance men. They join sisters Betty and Judy (Stefani Wood and Maria Logan) on a gig in Vermont, where they are surprised to find their retired general (Mark S. Cartier) running a financially troubled inn with an old barn theatre.

Hope for a white Christmas dwindles as the area has a season of warm weather, and hope for the Inn’s survival dims with the subsequent cancellations.

Can the four performers draw a full house and save the general’s inn from financial disaster?

If you have seen the classic movie, you know the answer. It’s a pretty corny plot filled with awful jokes. But forget about the plot and the jokes, mere framework for some of the best dancing and singing of the season. Standard Berlin songs, including “White Christmas,” “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm,” “Happy Holiday,” “Count Your Blessings” and “How Deep is the Ocean” are woven into the show. The lesser-known Berlin numbers, ”What Do You Do with a General?” and “Falling Out of Love Can Be Fun” are clever. The production numbers, led by Warwick native Taylor Hilt Mitchell as Dance Captain, are fabulous, especially “Blue Skies,” which closes Act I, and “I Love a Piano,” which opens Act II.

Don’t go rushing for your car after the cast takes their bows; they have one more gift for you. Kipper and Suggs make great song and dance men, backed up by a strong cast of singers/dancers. Veteran actor Susann Fletcher brings down the house as Martha Watson, with her Ethel Merman-style voice in “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy.”

“White Christmas” is a Christmas gift that will leave you smiling and humming some of the great Irving Berlin songs. It is at Ocean State Theatre Company through Christmas Eve. Call 921-6800 for reservations. Tickets are $39 to $59.