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December 3, 2025 21 mins
Curtains up, jazz hands out, and someone please warm up the snow machine - The Snow Must Go On is pure Christmas musical chaos in the best possible way. Isaiah, a once-Broadway-bright actor now dimmed by a decade of setbacks, flees to upstate New York for a holiday recharge and instead lands smack in the middle of a high school production hanging by a tinsel thread. One minute he’s sipping cocoa, the next he’s directing teenagers, casting himself as the lead, and trying to win over a Broadway power player...only to stumble into romance and a whole lot of self-rediscovery. It’s festive, it’s dramatic, it’s camp - and we were born ready to review it.

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Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I thought, Oh, Megan is absolutely heaving any spiritual experience
watching this right now. This is a bramble Jam podcast.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Welcome to Girls Gone Hallmark, a Hallmark review podcast. I'm
Megan and I'm a longtime Hallmark fan.

Speaker 1 (00:32):
I'm Wendy. I'm a former Hallmark hater.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Today we are discussing the Snow Must Go On and
Mary Thanksgiving Weekend Must Go On. This movie originally aired
on Friday, November twenty eighth, and is currently available to
stream on Hallmark Plus. Hey, we just dropped the cutest
merch collection. It is our Holiday Town collection. It's adorable,

(00:55):
it's cute, it's girly. There's a sweatshirt, there's a T shirt,
there's a mu there's a hand towel. We're gonna link
each one of those products below. You can grab them
in our shop, along with some more merch that we
recently launched. There's a main character energy sweatshirt that I
really like. That's all linked in the show notes, or

(01:16):
you can find it via the shop tab at Girls
Gone Hallmark dot com.

Speaker 1 (01:20):
You know what's funny, As I showed my husband that
stuff and he's like, why would you get it on
a towel, and I was like, I just like walked
away from the conversation. I was like, because people use
towels like we do in our house, and why not
make it cute. Look at the dish towel collection at
Home Goods. Man, Dude, have you been to an anthropology lately? Oh? Yeah, there,

(01:42):
dishtowels are so cute. So now we got our own.
That's right. Hey, We're on all the socials at Girls
Gone Hallmark, Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky. We have a Facebook group,
Girls Gone Hallmark. Come give us a joint over there.
We're just everywhere this season.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
If you want a supersized month from us on Patreon,
we are dropping five episodes as opposed to the usual four,
so you're getting more bang for your five books over
there Patreon, dot Com, slash Mag and Wendy new episodes
every Monday this month. Keep us in your ears as
you're shopping, wrapping, silently screaming into a pillow over the
never ending holiday to do list. Wendy sneak peek into

(02:22):
our lives right now. Wendy and I just look at
each other once in a while, go and then about
sums it up. We are going to talk about this
Noma's go on, and we're gonna kick it off.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
With a synopsis. Isaiah, a former Broadway actor struggling to
make a comeback, escapes to Upstate New York for the holidays,
only to get roped into directing his nieces nearly canceled
high school Christmas musical. Hoping to impress a powerful Broadway producer,
he casts himself in the show, but instead discovers unexpected romance,

(02:55):
renewed purpose, and the kind of holiday magic that reshapes
his priorities. This Snow Must Go On was directed by
Jeff Beasley, which marks his fortieth directing credit. He's behind
several Hallmark favorites like Following Yonder Star, A Carol for Two,
Haunted Wedding, and The Santa Summit. The screenplay was written
by Scott Damien and Heather Provost. Scott Damien has seven

(03:16):
writing credits, including Hallmark's Season for Love from twenty eighteen
and A Joyous Christmas from twenty seventeen. Heather Provost has
five writing credits and shares those same Hallmark titles. Heather
Heven stars as Lillianne. She has thirty one acting credits.
We last saw her in Christmas under the Lights, and
she's well known from the Groomsman trilogy. You know, I

(03:38):
was looking back at her IMDb resume. She hasn't been
on Hallmark that long. No, kind of surprised by that,
to be honest, I feel.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
Like she's a state one of their leading ladies.

Speaker 1 (03:51):
Yeah, sure, yeah. Corey Cott plays Isaiah, a Broadway guy
through and through, having starred in Newz's Gigi and Bam Stand.
He has twenty one acting credits and past Hallmark roles
include seasons Greetings from Cherry Lane and Butler's In Love.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
Kaylen Youwn McCrae appears as Aurora. She has four acting
credits with Hallmark appearances in Kiss Before Christmas and A
New Year's Resolution. Samantha Kendrick plays Sister Jess with twenty
six acting credits. She's appeared in Hallmark's Never Been Christ
and Francesca Quinn pi. Emily the Young plays Marana. This
is her fourth acting credit. She previously appeared in A

(04:30):
Big Fat Family Christmas in twenty twenty two.

Speaker 1 (04:33):
Stephanie sistars as Cindy. This is Stephanie's seventy first acting credit.
She was recently on Hallmark. And a Carol for Two
and The Magic of Lemon Drops.

Speaker 2 (04:42):
Rodrigo Bellyflis plays Noah. This is his thirteenth acting credit
and you may remember him from The Santa Summit. Mariam
Bernstein plays Sandra. Mariam's past Hallmark projects include The Magic
of Lemon Drops, Hanka on Rye, and a Christmas Cookie Catastrophe.
We're going to take a quick break and come right
back with our first impressions. Hey, Wendy, what was your

(05:10):
first impression of the Snow Must Go On? The minute
those kids started belting and fully committing to the show,
I thought, Oh, Megan is absolutely having any spiritual experience
watching this right now. My first impression is people are
either gonna love this movie or turn it off immediately.
And I am all in on the extreme campiness of

(05:30):
it all.

Speaker 1 (05:31):
I think it's because you're like a theater kid, mom
one hundred in this world. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
I think if you are a theater kid, a theater
parent in the theater world, this movie spoke to you.

Speaker 1 (05:45):
Let's talk what we liked. I am none of those things,
but I really like this movie. Yeah. There's something about
a story that has to do with like high school
set in high school. Okay, but I really enjoy okay,
and this was one of them. Uh huh. I liked it.
But let me tell you, Jeff Beasley knows how to

(06:06):
direct a Hallmark musical. Yes, I want to give him
his flowers here. This isn't the first time he's done
a Hallmark meets Broadway type movie. He did it with
a Carol fourtwo, which was on last year's count on
a Christmas It's not talked about enough. It was so good. Yeah,
I feel like it was very skipped over last year,
very skipped over, and it was good. I loved it.

(06:29):
He also did Just One Kiss from several years ago.
Do you remember that movie A little bit.

Speaker 2 (06:34):
They sing in that? Isn't that where they sing that
iconic song?

Speaker 1 (06:40):
You know that one?

Speaker 2 (06:43):
This is where our brain can envision it. Hold on,
I'll google it because I know people will be bothered.
Fley to the Moon and something Stupid by Santino Fontana
and Krista Rodriguez.

Speaker 1 (06:55):
I love Santino Fontana. Ugh. Yeah, Jeff Beasley's great. He
I don't know he somehow is able to translate that
broad Way energy into a cozy Hallmark movie. Yes, that's
what I liked.

Speaker 2 (07:14):
If I may quote Steve from our Facebook group, he said,
The Snow Must go On is in contention for the
sleeper of the Christmas season. The performance of the male
lead was incredible. The child actors also delivered. Director Jeff
Beasley created a funny, touching film that really says all
of my thoughts.

Speaker 1 (07:32):
He sums it up. Yes, ye, yes, you're listening. Guys.
Join our Facebook group where people are just doing our
job of I mean, look, Steve, you're hired. The male lead,
Corey Coott, is a damn delight. I agree.

Speaker 2 (07:47):
He made me smile. He carries this movie on his back.
His energy is high, his singing is delightful, his smile
is electric. I didn't really have any thoughts about this
movie going in. I just did not have any idea
what I was going to get. You know, I will
tell you it.

Speaker 1 (08:03):
Was probably low on my list because I was like,
I'm not familiar with Corey Coott. Heather hymns is fine.
I knew it was a Jeff Beasley movie, but I
was like, the Snow Must go On. I'm gonna talk
about it in my wishes. But I was so delighted
by all of that especially Corey Coott. He was. He

(08:24):
just brought me so much joy. I was like, I
don't know if I texted you or you texted me.
I was like, I'm really into this movie. Yeah. Yeah.
I loved how much singing we got from him too.
Oh he was so good. It is this beautiful, clear Broadway voice.
I'm in a real Broadway place. I went to New
York two weeks ago.

Speaker 2 (08:44):
I'm like, give me all the Broadway, give me the performances,
and I want you to know, from one theater parent
to the world, this is how theater people are. They
will just break into song. That ending scene where he's like,
I perform the Christmas Story every year, Like theater.

Speaker 1 (09:00):
Kids are like that. Yeah, like they're silly, they're fun.
There is a line it made me laugh out loud.
I can't remember exactly what it was, but it he
was like taking the temperature on if kids were feeling stress,
and he's like, let's break out it, or let's sing
a song or something that I was like, well, that
would be the last thing I would want to do.

Speaker 2 (09:19):
Sure, yeah, I do the same. I don't want to
sing something about Christmas, like, don't make me do that like.

Speaker 1 (09:27):
Present like you know, oh my gosh, yeah, when you
had a like that's like an icebreaker.

Speaker 2 (09:32):
Yeah, I don't want to do that. But I'm not
a theater kid. I'm just a theater nerd and theater parent.

Speaker 1 (09:39):
I'm in the world, okay, if I may, You know,
I liked the classic return Home to Save the Holiday
show trope. This is not the first time we've seen
this on Hallmark, but I liked it. It was pretty predictable, right, yes,
but it worked. I just there are parts of me
that I was like Winter high school public schools. Oh wait,

(10:01):
wasn't a public high school, was it? Oh? You're right,
I don't think so. It doesn't Does it matter? No,
it doesn't matter because, like you know, there's a lot
of a lot of people are doing like a Christmas show.
Oh yeah, and like this movie could have been like
it could have totally been made outside of Christmas too,
I think, yeah, regardless, none of that matters. But I

(10:22):
do like this trope of like, you know, save the
you gotta save the Christmas pageant energy.

Speaker 2 (10:29):
Speaking of tropes and predictability, I did enjoy the metaphor
of figuring out your second act.

Speaker 1 (10:35):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I said, did I are we there
is that? Why? Yes, hey, there's the metaphor.

Speaker 2 (10:42):
And then of course Isaiah does make that connection. He's like,
I need to figure out what my own second act is.

Speaker 1 (10:48):
To piggyback off. Facebook member Steve, I really loved the
kids in this movie. Yeah. First you got your trouble
kid turned into your lead. I know. I was like,
love that. I love that. We have Aurora, who his niece,
who is so mature beyond her age. I love that.

(11:12):
And then we have Miranda, who is this shy lead
basically like the girl can sing and perform. Can I
tell you?

Speaker 2 (11:22):
My daughter, who's a theater kid the other day says
to me while I'm doing her hair, she goes, you know,
one of these days, I'm gonna overcome my fear of
singing in front of people, and I'm gonna be unstoppable.

Speaker 1 (11:32):
And I was like, did you cry? What do we
do to get you with it? I love that. Anyway,
she should watch this movie. I know she should watch
this movie. I will say I did enjoy Heather hymns
as Lily, and she is level headed and warm and
she can sing. I really love that we got to

(11:53):
see this moment of Heather him and singing in the movie.
I thought that was great. She does keep it. I'm
going off the rails because Corey's character Isaiah is a
little bit unhinged. I'm going to talk about him and
my wishes, But she keeps it everything like she's very
even unmeasured.

Speaker 2 (12:11):
Yes, yes, Like you talked about the stereotypes of the kids,
and I think the kids, many of them are straight
up stereotypes, but I do think they're all recognizable stereotypes.
They serve a purpose. You know, you can either laugh
with them or connect with them. You've got the theatre
diva overly obsessed with her phone. I also, in terms
of the production, I was impressed with the production value

(12:35):
of the final show, the costuming, the makeup, the sets.
It was well done for a Hallmark high school production.
I thought it was nice. And I have two quick
little humorous likes to wrap mine up. I loved the
line it's like Hamilton but Christmas and I. In the
beginning of the movie, we see the old drama teacher

(12:58):
walking out in a blaze of glory and she throws
her papers and as my husband, who is disillusioned with
the profession of teaching.

Speaker 1 (13:05):
He just was like like he just loved that moment.
He's like, that's the dream man. Just in the middle
of the day.

Speaker 2 (13:12):
You're done, so don't worry. He wouldn't do it to
his students, but made him love.

Speaker 1 (13:20):
I think everybody has that dream of like going out
in a blaze of glory like that.

Speaker 2 (13:24):
If they like the Jerry Maguire, Yeah, who's with me?

Speaker 1 (13:28):
Yep, yeap for sure? Are you ready to talk wishes?
I am? I mentioned it briefly, Isaiah, you're doing too
much and not always in a good way. You cast
yourself in as the lead. I'd like to talk about it.
Let's talk about it.

Speaker 2 (13:45):
Look, as mentioned eight hundred times, I'm a theater parent.
I've seen some crazy you.

Speaker 1 (13:49):
Know what, including nepotism like you wouldn't believe. But the
director casting himself an adult in the lead role of
a high school presentation was beyond too much.

Speaker 2 (14:02):
Right, Let the kids be kids. Look, this is my argument.
In elementary school, my kids. Elementary school does a very
nice theater program, but they would bring in high school
students to be pit singers, which means they're like off
stage singing to boost the sound of the Okay, it's
an elementary school production. Let it be elementary school kids.

(14:23):
We don't need let the kid's voices shine.

Speaker 1 (14:27):
Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.

Speaker 2 (14:28):
They rewrote one of the parts in Mary Poppins because
the mister Banks character's voice wasn't strong enough to sing
let's go fly a kite at the end, so they
gave it to missus Banks. It doesn't even make sense.
Stuff like this is like, what are we doing here?
What's the point? And so I felt like you have
missed the mark.

Speaker 1 (14:47):
Completely, like because I thought when he first did that,
I was like, he's just doing that so that Aurora
can play the role. But that wasn't his goal. That
only happened accidentally. The let like the end, right, And
I was like, come on, man, open your eyes. Not cool, bro, Yeah,

(15:07):
who wants to go see you're the drama teacher, No
play the lead? No, you want to see your own kid? Right?
High school production? Yeah yeah, I'm going to get why
they had to do it. I get why the story
makes sense. Yes, I U too, But I.

Speaker 2 (15:26):
Also feel like casting Aurora in the lead role also
gets the attention of her mother in a way where
she might be then willing.

Speaker 1 (15:35):
To offer him the audition he's looking for. Yeah, because
I feel like it would have had the opposite effect
if he had gone on stage and performed. She would
be like, what the heck is this guy doing? He's
taking away for real, Yeah, from the student's opportunity. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
My next wish is Stephanie's Saie is criminally underused.

Speaker 2 (15:56):
It's my biggest wish. Justice for Stephanie SSI in all caps.

Speaker 1 (16:00):
She is a Broadway star. Yeah, give her more to do? Okay,
no shade to Heather hymns. But what if Stephanie Saie
was in this lead role? I know, what is Hallmark
afraid of putting Stephanie Saiye in the lead. I don't
get it. It might have been too much like Broadway energy.
But we're already there, I know. I know. Justice for

(16:24):
Stephanie Saie. Also, I mentioned it earlier. I hate the
title of this movie. I hate the pun. I wish
it was just the show must go on and make
the poster Christmas y. Yeah, I think I don't.

Speaker 2 (16:37):
I think Hallmark is like, can't do it, can't do it.
Gotta have it in there, gotta have something wintry, something Christmas.

Speaker 1 (16:46):
I mean I know there was a tie in with
the snow machine, but it wasn't that. And they even
say character like yeah, yes, like don't hit me over
the head bottle.

Speaker 2 (16:57):
Yeah yeah, that's it though for my wishes, let's talk dude,
you see that.

Speaker 1 (17:04):
I just have a few. I loved Isaiah's sweatsuit that
with the candy cane. Oh yeah. I mean it's like
clip art fantasy come true. But it was funny and
it was a bold move that he just like shows
up to the high school, like when you mean this? Like,
I you know, I thought it was funny. I thought
it was funny. My other did you see that? I

(17:29):
have two more the opening scene, I was like, what
am I getting here? Like, you know, because they show
him in this like on his One man show or whatever.
I was like, wait, I thought this was about high
school Christmas musical, So I like that. It kind of
threw me off a little bit. Well, my husband, he's like,

(17:50):
what's happening. This is terrible. I'm like, it's intentionally bad.
Like it's intentionally bad, that's the point.

Speaker 2 (17:56):
And he was like he couldn't understand, and like the
point is he's trying to do this one man show.

Speaker 1 (18:01):
He's clearly talented. His show sucks. Nobody's there like but
my husband was like also thrown anyway. My last did
you see that was there were some great lines in
this You've already mentioned them, but the one where they're
talking about the script and Lily Ango's concepts of a

(18:22):
script and I there were a lot of little like
political easter eggs really liked. Yep, yep, I have two
more digitsu. That's I did love the concepts of a
plan throwback. In the beginning of the movie, when the
sister and the daughter, the sister and the knees, it
was unclear to me their relationship to him and each other. Yeah,

(18:45):
and I thought it was his sister and her girlfriend.

Speaker 2 (18:49):
Oh and then we cut and they were like going
through a divorce and then this kid comes out.

Speaker 1 (18:54):
I'm like, oh, that's the knees up. Didn't understand that,
didn't understand that at all. Is this Cassie of a
for the teenagers? Maybe too old.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
I'm not a good judge of age, but to me,
the sister also looked very young in that opening scene.

Speaker 1 (19:11):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (19:11):
I just thought that's his sister and that's her girlfriend
because he talks about her and she's like she is
very talented, and she like touches her arm like it
was sweet. I was like, yeah, anyway also, and then
I paused it when I realized that that was the daughter,
And I said, did you think it was the sister
and the girlfriend? He said no, I thought it was
his sister and her friend coming to his show.

Speaker 1 (19:32):
Oh the only other Did you see that? This is
such a reach.

Speaker 2 (19:35):
When he goes through, he's like, I got an app
to do the lighting, and he like goes through. At
that commercial break, there was a commercial for app lights,
which is like a lighting app. Yeah, and I went
back and rewatched to see if they had like flashed
to his app.

Speaker 1 (19:53):
They don't. Oh so it's just a very weird coincidence.

Speaker 2 (19:56):
Yeah, because app lights it's more about holiday lighting and
this is more about stage life. I don't know if
there was any tie in, but it was coincidental. Hmm.

Speaker 1 (20:05):
What did you rate the Snow Must Go On? I
gave it three point seventy five. Owe me to exactly.
That's a good one. Yeah, it's good.

Speaker 2 (20:12):
Hey, thank you if for listening to this episode of
Girls Gone Hamewark a Bramble Jam podcast. If you love
this podcast, we love your five star ratings and reviews,
Hit us with them in the Apple Podcast app.

Speaker 1 (20:25):
We'll see you next time. Goodbye. Bye. All right friends,
before we go, just a quick heads up. You're about
to hear some ads die. Little gems help us keep
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(20:47):
do with that info what you will, Grab a snack,
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