Matthew Croke and Eleanor Brown in Singin’ in the Rain at Salisbury Playhouse and Touring. Picture: Richard Davenport
Singin’ in the Rain continues at Salisbury Playhouse until 26 May, then tours to the Octagon Theatre, Bolton (3-25 June) and the New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme (3 June to 16 July).
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
The iconic lamp post is on from the start. Other bits of set may come and go, but there is no mistaking the focus of Salisbury Playhouse’s musical Singin’ in the Rain. The plot may be all about the coming of the talkies, but the stage show is all about the downpour.
And it comes down in a satisfying torrent, drenching Matthew Croke’s Don Lockwood and giving the poncho-clad front row the odd shower as well. By the end, as the entire cast reprises the title song, we all wish we, too, were getting soaked through and having as much fun.
This is a co-production, starting in Salisbury before travelling on to the Octagon Theatre, Bolton and the New Vic in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and it’s a total joy.
Octagon artistic director Elizabeth Newman delivers a champagne bubble of a show that fizzes with energy from start to finish, helped considerably by Sian Williams’ fabulous choreography and Lesley Hutchison’s movement.
It’s played out on a monochrome set with spotlights shining upwards like an old-fashioned Hollywood premiere (Ciaran Bagnall, who also designs the lighting), but most of the action is contained on a raised central roundel with a screen suspended above, which provides the very funny movie sequences.
Much of the rest of the space is taken up by the cast – a dozen actor-musicians, who under the musical direction of Richard Reeday, double as the band, whipping in and out of costume and swapping props and musical instruments seamlessly.
The story probably needs no introduction – Hollywood studio Monumental Pictures struggles to make the transition from silent era to talking pictures, hampered by the raucous voice and inert acting abilities of leading lady Lina Lamont. Meanwhile, its other big movie star, Don Lockwood, falls for sweet-voiced starlet Kathy Seldon – and Lina sure ain’t pleased.
The score is peppered with familiar gems like ‘Good Morning’, ‘You Are My Lucky Star’ and ‘Moses Supposes’ and the stage show even includes a number for Lina, ‘What’s Wrong with Me?’
Croke sings and dances up a storm as Lockwood and Eleanor Brown has star quality as Kathy, feisty and vulnerable by turns. Christian Edwards, as Cosmo, wows with an exhilarating rendition of ‘Make ’Em Laugh’ and the whole company triumphs in ‘Broadway Melody’.
Sarah Vezmar’s vocally challenged Lina is all outward glamour and inner Brooklyn bruiser and Helen Power also makes an impression as sycophantic Dora Bailey, fronting the latest Lockwood-Lamont premiere.
With so much to praise, carping seems mean, but the drawback of screen to stage is that scene transitions happen frequently – trundling on the next set virtually signals which song is next down the line.
The sound is superb in the musical numbers, but by not mic-ing the dialogue, the sudden jolt to amplification is stark.
Never mind, Singin’ in the Rain is a fabulous evening out – the costumes are gorgeous, the singing and dancing sublime and the rain is splendidly wet.
Lesley Bates
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