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December 5, 2003
Singin' the night away
High calibre of dancing makes for impressive show.
LAURI DONAHUE SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
Who knew that rain in Vancouver could be such a treat? But it was
for the opening night crowd at the Stanley Theatre who were on their
feet, celebrating the highly-polished stage version of the classic
film musical Singin' in the Rain.
The stage adaptation seen here premièred on Broadway in 1985.
It retains the well-known musical numbers from the film and adds
a comic lament for the vocally challenged Lina Lamont character.
Most of the songs were originally written by Nacio Herb Brown and
Arthur Freed (born Grossman) for the 1929 MGM film Broadway Melody
– the first all-singing, all-talking, all-dancing Hollywood
musical – and for other movie musicals of the '20s and '30s.
In 1950, Freed hired the Jewish writing team of Betty Comden and
Adolph Green (On the Town, Wonderful Town) to come
up with a story to recycle the old tunes. The result was based,
very loosely, on the true story of the creation of Broadway Melody
and on Hollywood's panicked reaction to the advent of talking pictures.
The film premièred in 1952 and starred Gene Kelly (as Don),
Donald O'Connor (Cosmo) and a 20-year-old Debbie Reynolds as Kathy.
Brown came out of retirement to write a new song with Freed –
"Make 'em Laugh" – to showcase O'Connor's dance talents.
The Arts Club Theatre's production, playing until Jan. 11, is also
a dance showcase. The three leads – Peter Huck (Don), Todd
Talbot (Cosmo) and Cara Hunter (Kathy) – are all dazzling hoofers,
and the rest of the ensemble keeps pace.
From their first number ("Fit as a Fiddle"), Huck and
Talbot are in perfect synch, tap dancing with an athletic grace
that makes them seem to float over the stage. Not a single routine
falls short; they just keep getting better and better. Talbot is
amazing in "Make 'em Laugh," combining rubber-legged slapstick
with acrobatics, and he manages to nail a 360-degree flip off a
door without the aid of Matrix-style special effects. Huck
should get hazard pay for dancing on the rain-slick stage in the
title number. Yes, it's "real" rain – and a moment
of pure theatrical magic.
Hunter has a somewhat thankless task in the straight-woman role
of Kathy, but she's a pint-sized dynamo next to her towering co-stars
and shines especially brightly in "Good Morning."
Cailin Stadnyk is a hoot as the screechy-voiced, platinum-haired
Lina Lamont. She turns cluelessness into an art form, wide-eyed
as a kewpie doll in the scene where director Roscoe Dexter (Dan
Costain) tries with infinite patience to explain to her how to talk
into the microphone.
Speaking of microphones, the ones looped over the actors' ears don't
prevent the sound system from dropping the low notes. Voices this
good deserve better.
Other than that, there's very little to criticize in this show.
The sets and costumes by Alison Green are terrific. The "movies"
within the play manage to capture the pace and feel of the old silents,
even if they look a lot more like digital video than flickering
celluloid. The book is a bit dated and corny, but the talented cast
still manages to wring laughs from the old gags.
Even in Vancouver, a little Rain can really brighten your
day.
Singin' in the Rain shows at the Stanley Theatre until Jan.
11. Tickets are $18.50 (student rush) to $58. Call 604-687-1644
or visit www.artsclub.com.
Lauri Donahue is an award-winning playwright and the rebbetzin
of Beth Tikvah Congregation in Richmond.
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