What better way for a theater located in the shadows of the Queen Mary to celebrate its Silver anniversary than to bookend its 25th season with two musicals dedicated to queen-like icons of the silver screen.

Indeed, that is exactly what Long Beach’s International City Theater is doing this year as it opened its 25th Silver Jubilee Season with the Los Angeles premiere of a musical on silver screen actress Ginger Rogers, the critically acclaimed Backwards in High Heels.

Quite a hilarious and energetic take on the pioneering actress who was linked to some of the biggest names of Hollywood, such as Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball and Bette Davis, Backwards in High Heels is an in-depth look at the Ginger Rogers most people never knew — both publicly and privately.

With quite a simple yet elegant set reminiscent of a 1940s Broadway stage, Anna Aimee White stars as Ginger Rogers and takes the audience on the journey that was the famed actress’s life. Yet, instead of reprising the life any book, magazine article or Wikipedia entry would have told, White tells the audience of the lesser-known and not-so-sexy facts surrounding the thespian’s ascension to success.

Among the tidbits the audience aptly discovers throughout the musical are the actress’s decision to part ways with Astaire at the peak of their partnership, the extent of Rogers’s mother’s involvement in the early stages of the starlet’s career, and how she was a pioneer in being one of the first women in Hollywood to demand equal pay.

Overall, the musical covers 14 years of Rogers’s personal and professional life, starting with her pre-teen days in Texas, the makings of a promising career as she made her way through New York and the Midwest, and finally her arrival in Hollywood and her Oscar-winning performance in the film Kitty Foyle.

Along the way, White tells Rogers’s story with a series of original songs (all written by Christopher McGovern), including “Fascinatin’ Rhythm,” “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” “Embraceable You,” and “A Fine Romance” – all numbers previously featured in Rogers’s films.

White’s charisma, persona and charm are on full display throughout the entire production, as she brings life not only to Ginger Rogers but to the entire set, even in moments the biographical tale would otherwise be at a lull. Her enthusiasm in portraying one of Hollywood’s most influential actresses is evident from the moment she walks onto the stage, convincing the audience Rogers must have been just as jubilantly dedicated to her career as White in playing the Oscar-winning thespian.

Joining White on stage are Heather Lee (Rogers’s mother Lela), Matt Bauer (Fred Astaire and other roles), Jack Briggs, Jeff Payton and Robin DeLano, each actor collectively making Backwards in High Heels an entertaining musical that is as bright and captivating as it is lighthearted and comedic.

Playing at the International City Theater in downtown Long Beach through March 21st, Backwards in High Heels was developed by Lynnette Barkley and Christopher McGovern, and directed by Caryn Desai; Darryl Archibald was the brains behind the musical direction, while Melissa Giattino choreographed the production.

For more information on how to purchase tickets for the production also known as “The Ginger Musical,” please visit the International City Theater website.