BOSTON -- Yes, Virginia, that is snow drifting from the rafters and onto your shoulders at the Wang Theatre during the grand finale of Irving Berlin's White Christmas.

The fluffy stuff caps a nostalgic, delightful, 2 1/2-hour musical extravaganza that opened last week at the Wang, its co-producer. It runs through New Year's Eve.

Based on the classic 1954 film starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen, this new-to-Boston show is full of old-fashioned elements that musical fans loved on Broadway, before crashing chandeliers and angst-ridden felines altered the theater scene.

There are wonderful Berlin tunes, leggy showgirls, boffo production numbers with snappy dancing and true romance, all wrapped around a sweet, sometimes sappy, story.

Set in 1954, the plot revolves around Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, two old Army buddies turned show biz superstars, who team up with, then fall in love with, Betty and Judy Haynes to bring a holiday show to the nearly bankrupt Vermont inn run by their old Army general.

David Ives and Paul Blake wrote the book, making several changes from the movie. They've converted the general's quiet teenage granddaughter into a precocious, scene-stealing tween, played by Katherine Doherty. Ives and Blake have also turned the busybody concierge into another scene-stealer, a frustrated Broadway star played by Karen Morrow, who belts 'em out like Ethel Merman.

The changes, while tolerable, weren't necessary to the show's success and may annoy White Christmas purists.

That aside, performances and voices are good across the board. Stephen Bogardus, as Bob Wallace (Crosby's role), wisely doesn't imitate him and plays him as a nice guy-next-door type.

Nashua native Kerry O'Malley plays Betty Haynes, Clooney's character. She's in fine voice and, with her red hair, has a much different look than Clooney.

Michael Gruber, as Phil Davis, isn't as zany as Kaye was in the film. But he did a wonderful turn on the dance floor with Nadine Isenegger (Judy) in the classic "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing," a musical showstopper.

Terry Beaver's Gen. Waverly was more comedic than Dean Jagger's film general, so it was harder to take his plight seriously.

The ensemble numbers "Blue Skies" and "I Love a Piano," while not in the movie, were a welcome addition as replacements for the politically incorrect "Minstrel" and boring "Choreography" segments from the film.

The finale, of course, is "White Christmas" and it's a dazzler. Then we're treated to a lovely "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" as an encore, complete with that falling snow.

It wasn't just like the movie, but Irving Berlin's White Christmas is a welcome addition to the December theater scene. We'll add it to our list of not-to-be-missed holiday treats.