Singin' in the Rain is one of Hollywood's most loved and treasured
In 2011 another
revival was put on as part of the Chichester Festival in 2011, the show then
announced it would be transferring to the West End where it would replace
Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the Palace Theatre. Don Lockwood is a
Hollywood legend in 1927, alongside Lina Lamont; they make the perfect
'Hollywood couple'. They are huge hits until movies introduce sound into their
pictures because Lina has the worst voice! Luckily Don bumps into a young
actress called Kathy Sleden, they come up with the idea to dub Lina's voice with
Kathy's. Don and Kathy soon fall in love, much to Lina's disapproval because
this could ruin her career. By the end of the show Lina is soon shown as the
fake she is to the public and Kathy finally gets the attention she
deserves.
The shows score is that of a true Hollywood musical, the new songs
stick the style of the original film and it's wonderful to have such a classic
piece in the West End at the moment, which I think was missing. Jonathan
Church's direction work well with Simon Higlett's design, at first I wasn't so
sure of the design because it looked far too busy and some of it looked very
random but as soon as the stage was brought to life by the actors it worked and
each scene was believable to be in a different location even though it was
practically the same set.
One thing that is the most incredible thing about
this production is the choreography. The dancing is the thing that makes
this production. Andrew Wright has done an amazing job, if he doesn't win any awards for this there is defiantly
something wrong with the Theatre industry.
Adam Copper stars in the
production as Don Lockwood and he carries the show. His interpretation of Don
was spot on and held essence of Gene Kelly but he totally made the role his own,
his exquisite dancing and effortless but incredible acting and singing
contributed majorly to why the show works. Daniel Crossley as Cosmo Brown
was fantastic, although he didn't stand out to me his chemistry with Adam Copper
worked brilliantly on stage. One thing I would say is if his song 'Make 'em
Laugh' wasn't so busy he would have stood out more to me, there was just a
little too much going on in that section so less room for his tremendous talent
to shine through.
Scarlett Strallen was a nice Kathy Selden, my favourite
moments were when she was with Don, her and Adam Cooper also had a fantastic on
stage chemistry. One thing I would say about her is that I think she could have
been a little feistier, Kathy is a very feisty girl and Scarlett didn't really
bring out this aspect of her however the way she played the role was still
delightful. Katherine Kingsley had the hard job of trying to impress me,
Lina Lamont is my favourite character in the show and I've seen a few people
play her but none of them blew me away. Katherine was great, she was funny and
played the role with attitude and very naively which worked. She also worked
very well with the other characters, the contrast was terrific. She is
another one who I think should be recognised for this role, I hope she gets
nominated for an award because she's stunning in this show.
Michael Brandon
as R.F Simpson, Sandra Dickson as Miss Dinsmore/Dora Bailey and Peter Forbes as
Roscoe Dexter all were great additions to the cast. They worked wonderful
together and alongside the principle cast they were fantastic. The ensemble were remarkable, the show wouldn't
be what it is without them! Ebony Molina, Jaye Juliette Elster, David Birch and
Jack Wilcox were a few that stood out for me. The opening of the show,
although choreographed wonderfully, seemed a little random and really just
wasn't needed, the children were also something that were not needed.
Everything
else about the show was magnificent, the rain effect was incredible! I was
expecting a line of water falling at the front of the stage and that's not what
we got! The whole stage filled with water and the rain falling from the roof of
the theatre looked fantastic! I do warn you though, if you want to sit in
the stalls do not sit near the front otherwise you'll get SOAKED!
It almost
seemed that the cast were having a competition on who could kick the water the
furthest! The effect was great though, better than any previous productions
of Singin' in the Rain I'd say! I'd recommend this show to everyone, its a
classic story and a delightful production.
Rating: ****
Singin' in the Rain is currently playing at the Palace
Theatre
