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Singin in the Rain
Theatre
Lifestyle: Singin' In The Rain The Musical
Monday, October 29, 2012
In celebration of the 60th anniversary DVD release of the 1953 MGM movie, staring Gene Kelly (Don Lockwood), Debbie Reynolds (Kathy Seldon) and Donald O’Connor (Cosmo Brown) I was invited to spend an evening at The Palace Theatre, London, to watch Singin' In The Rain - The Musical!
After receiving rave reviews in Chichester in the summer, it's transformation to the West End stage was inevitable.
From outset, Jonathan Church's production is upbeat, all-singing and all dancing. The energy maintained, by all the cast, throughout the hours of the show is superb. I especially loved the attention to detail. The stage hands all wore costumes, in-keeping with the 1920s era.
Following in the footsteps of Gene Kelly obviously has its challenges, although I felt Adam Cooper, former Principal of The Royal Ballet and also known as the grown up Billy Elliot in the final scenes of the movie, played a wonderful and convincing portrayal of Don Lockwood.
Scarlett Strallen, sister to actresses Summer, Zizi and Saskia including and the niece of Bonnie Langford, played a more naive version of Kathy Seldon. Scarlett's voice offers a beautiful tone and presented equally impressive dancing talents. The chemistry between the on-stage couple, Adam and Scarlett, was very believable.
My favourite performance of the evening was by Katherine Kingsley as the screen star Lina Lamont. To uphold the screechy and hilarious 'New Yoik' accent from start to finish cannot be easy, but Katherine brought a real vitality on stage!
Daniel Crossley who plays Cosmo Brown, provided the perfect comic timing and I loved his version of Make 'em Laugh.
If that was not all, the staging of Singin' in the Rain is incredible! Each performance uses 14 tonnes (14,000 litres) of water, pumped from, recycled and pumped back into a 10 ton water tank in the orchestra pit. Heated to 30 degrees Celsius, recycled, filtered, chlorinated and UV treated, allowing it to be safe for the performers and audience, it is a spectacular sight. The audience laughing as the actors splash about and intermittently splashing out at the nearest rows!
After a busy working year, the three hours I spent at Singin' in the Rain re-ignited my love of singing, dancing and the theatre.
Book your tickets 'here' and see your very own taster of the show, below.
Book your tickets 'here' and see your very own taster of the show, below.
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