Singin' in the Rain

Singin’ in the Rain is one of the most popular productions for both community and professional theatre alike and offers a light-hearted depiction of Hollywood in the late 1920s, with the four leads portraying performers caught up in the transition from silent films to "talkies".  

The climax of the first Act is the iconic titular song complete with rain curtain which results in an extended first act that can feel overlong unless the cast and production team have managed to captivate its audience and I’m delighted to report that this was very much the case in Mansfield’s production.  From the opening bars of the overture the action pinged along at a very enjoyable pace.  Characters were very well drawn and felt “real” rather than caricature, the orchestration was sympathetic and balanced well with the vocal performances and scene changes were very well orchestrated to ensure that the focus was always on the on-stage action. The use of simple setting with a small number of key props and settings was very refreshing to see in such a large auditorium.

It was clear that a significant amount of thought, preparation and sheer hard work had been put in by both the performers and production team alike.   The Black and White filmed inserts that are essential to the plot were very expertly executed, although the number of deliberate jumps and pops in the film did slightly reduce the impact of the classic  “yes yes yes no no no” film sync fail ..  but great technical work none the less.

The on-stage core of this production were the great central performances of Sean Curtis, Amy Shaw, Jamie Savage and Carolyn Frith. The four brought out the individuality of their characters and also their interplay made their relationships as friends, rivals and new lovers jump off the stage.  Vocal performances were excellent throughout with Good Morning and Singin’ in Rain being especially successful, the latter made great use of the rain curtain as a support to the number with the whole stage being used not just the strip where the rain is falling.

Choreography was another great success of this production.  All numbers were very sympathetically designed to support the strengths of the cast and this was especially true in the design of Broadway Melody. The Ensemble shone in this number and in all their on-stage action.  

Musical direction was spot on, both during the rehearsal period shown in the excellent diction of the performers, and on-stage with the strong orchestral performance and full-cast vocal prowess.  Lighting, sound balance and costumes all added to the production and it was refreshing to see light usage of stage makeup giving a natural look across the cast.  All of this does not happen by accident and Ally Sadler should be suitably proud of this her first outing as Director of this talented company.  Congratulations to you all!   

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