Singin’ In The Rain
Singin’ In The Rain
Book and Lyrics Betty Comden & Adolph Green
Music by Nacio Herb Brown & Arthur Freed
Directed and Choreographed by Rob Winn Anderson
Musical Direction by Chris Endsley
Starring Nigel Columbus, Erin Elizabeth Stillson, and Jana Lugar
The Garden Theatre, Winter Garden, FL
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Who needs plot? We’ve got dancing! And special effects! And great music! And exclamation points! Sure, there’s some razzle about a silent film starlet Lina Lamont (Lugar) in love with her leading man Don Lockwood (Columbus). But he’s got other ideas and falls for the golden-voiced Kathy Selden (Stillson); with talkies on the horizon Lamont’s screechy Brooklyn accent is on the way out. But you can figure that all out from your seat, so let’s talk about the musical numbers. Columbus is one of those effortless dancers who can tap, strut and pirouette at will; he never walks across stage but rather levitates on some sort of magic dance energy field. From “You Stepped out of a Dream” to the iconic “Broadway Melody” this guy held the audience in his palm every time he floated across stage. His wing man and lifelong friend Cosmo Brown (Alex Rader) leans more toward the physical stuff; his best material came from the comic “Make ‘Em Laugh” and the patter song “Moses Supposes.” Together these guys produced the tapping that draws us back to old movies; in the “Good Morning” Stillson adds to their joyful noise. Director Anderson is no slouch at choreography; every number here had some hook or gimmick making it unique. They even got the couch involved in a few numbers, and Miss Stillson stole our hearts with Mr. Columbus in “You Were Meant for Me,” and then again in the solo “Would You?” It’s rare to enjoy seeing the jitled woman get her comuppance, but they delivered that exact rare bird, hot and juicy.
Along with a clever and almost waterproof set, other highlights include Frank Siano as the easily swayed studio head R. F Simpson and great character work from Steven Pugh as enforcer Roscoe Dexter . Naturally, there was rain on stage; it looked well contained but hang around during intermission to watch the squeegee patrol do their work. While the ceiling taps were running, there was no tapping noises in Columbus’s dance; I’m not sure if the sound was just lost or if there’s some technical reason to soft shoe that number. But never mind that nit; this is a superb presentation of a classic film on stage, and it loses none of the original charm. The pleasant surprises last till the final bows, and tickets are flying out the door. Snap up a pair and wear your finest rubber boots to this glistening gem of American stagecraft.
For more information on The Garden Theatre, please visit www.gardentheatre.org
