Precipitation and the Muny are old friends. Last week’s opening of The Wiz had a rain delay, of course. The current show, Singin’ in the Rain, whose title has surely caused dozens of jokes among staff and audience alike, was prepared for more than just jokes, we’re sure. But the only rain that fell was onstage in the spectacular close to Act I, which is the title song.
Based on the classic 1952 film, back when movie musicals were bread and butter for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, one of many reasons this version succeeds is that the only causes of thinking of the iconic stars of the film (Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor) are visual. The Muny folks are costumed similarly, but the performances are very much their own, thank you.
The story is all about the transition from silent movies to what were referred to as talkies. Our hero Don Lockwood (Corbin Bleu) is frequently paired in films with Lina Lamont (Megan Sikora). The studio publicity flacks have put it out that the two are romantically involved offstage. Lina believes this, too, but she’s hardly starry-eyed about it – if this were a comic strip, she’d have dollar signs in the pupils of her eyes. Don’s protestations make no dent in her insistence.
After the premiere of their latest film, there’s an after-party. Don makes an excuse not to ride with Lina, and tells his lifelong buddy Cosmo (Jeffrey Schechter) he’s going to get some air. Outside, he sits down on a bench next to a young woman, Kathy Selden (Berklea Going), who says he looks familiar. She’s seen his face, she thinks, on a “Wanted” poster. (It’s scenes like this that gave birth to the phrase “meet cute”.) She’s an actress, she says, a real actress, and tells him all he does is (bad) pantomime.
Don arrives at the party, held by the studio head, R.F. Simpson (Jeff McCarthy), who shows off something new – a movie with sound. A passing fancy, party-goers assure each other, but of course it’s not Simpson decides to re-shoot the next Lockwood-Lamont vehicle with sound.
There’s a problem: Lina’s voice. Think Fran Drescher in “The Nanny”. She brays, she honks, and she’s immune to efforts to coach her. She can’t sing, either, and they’re adding music to the film, which is set during the French Revolution. Don, who hasn’t been able to stop thinking about Kathy, finds out she’s working as a bit player on another film on the studio lot. He discovers she can sing, so he and Cosmo get the bright idea of dubbing Lena’s voice using Kathy. Lena’s so dumb, they figure, she won’t notice the difference, and it can remain a secret, because Lena’s figured out that Don has a thing for Kathy. Tension ensures, of course.
Corbin Bleu’s straightforward Don is an upstanding, likable guy with a killer smile that benefits from being shown on the gigantic digital screen upstage. Kathy, in the person of Berklea Going, a former Muny kid who literally worked her way up gives us a non-simpering Kathy, who balances principle and impulse. The feisty Cosmo comes from Jeffrey Schecter. Schecter was the guy who returned on very short notice last year to do A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and managed to tear it up even though he had to carry his script in hand. He’s clearly becoming a favorite of Muny audiences; my guess is we’ll see him in coming years.
Megan Sikora’s Lina was riotous – pulling something like this off is surely harder than it looks to those of us in the audience – and she had absolutely the best costumes of any character in the show. Those furs are going to be hazardous, though, for the rest of the week’s run. I was also quite taken with Jeff McCarthy’s Simpson, the studio head, who asked for “hoofers” in the French Revolution film, as he gave the dignified power figure some oomph. Particular applause for Ryan Washington and Ben Iken, who play Don and Cosmo as kids.
Marc Bruni directed this fun piece of fluff, and Rommy Sandhu’s choreography was a delight. Tristan Raines’ costumes in the style of the Twenties are glorious, hints of Art Nouveau, plenty of fringe-y flapperesque dresses, enough spangles to pave a couple of miles of Forest Park roadways – it’s all good.
A good time had by all, including the audience who seems to be getting a little better about avoiding walking ovations.
Singin’ in the Rain
through July 3
The Muny
Forest Park