Buckle up your galoshes and get to Riverside Theatre to splash around in their joyous, visually spectacular production of “Singin’ in the Rain.”
This musical title is one of the first to reverse the more usual stage-to-screen trajectory. It’s a 1985 adaptation of the 1952 movie, authored by the original screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green, using the film’s pastiche score by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed.
The movie starred Gene Kelly and Donald O’Conner at the peak of their fame and made a star of ingenue Debbie Reynolds.
It’s to the credit of the terrific Riverside cast that, in taking on characters played by legendary stars in a classic film, they each bring their own personality and avoid any attempt to replicate or worse, imitate their Hollywood forebears in the roles.
Joe Capstick as Cosmo Brown gives us the first inkling of what’s to come in “Fit as a Fiddle,” an early duet which sets him up as leading man Don Lockwood’s sidekick. But it’s not long before he brings down the house with “Make ’Em Laugh,” a one-man vaudeville routine that shows off his gift for physical comedy.
In short order, Cosmo and Don team up for a virtuosic “Moses Supposes” tap duet and we know we are in excellent feet … er, hands, for the evening. The opening night audience roared its approval. Capstick wears the role as comfortably and confidently as if he’s been playing it his whole life.
When these two are later joined by Sara Esty as Kathy Seldon for the “Good Morning” trio, they lift off into the stratosphere. By then, Esty’s Kathy has already led a line of chorines at a studio party, danced the “You Were Meant for Me” pas de deux, and will later dance on pointe, so her dance skills and lovely voice are beyond question.
As movie star Don Lockwood, Michael Starr, an aptly named newcomer to Riverside, is utterly charming. It’s probably movie musical heresy to say it, but on screen, Gene Kelly never convinces one for a second that he thinks he’s anything shy of wonderful.
Starr, though, gives Lockwood an appealing vulnerability. He fumbles a bit nervously when he first meets Kathy, and we believe he might actually doubt his talent as an actor when the impending threat of sound could upend his career.
He and Capstick make Don and Cosmo’s friendship since childhood feel genuinely casual and candid, and they appear to enjoy nothing more than when they’re hoofing in blissful synch with each other.
Of course, the major set-piece of the show is the exuberant title number that ends the first act. And yes, it rains. On stage. Given the advances in stagecraft technology, this may not be the big deal in 2025 that it was 40 years ago, but it’s still pretty darn impressive!
I can’t say how closely director/choreographer Richard Stafford’s steps adhere to those of Gene Kelly’s original, but all of the most famous moments are there – the puddle splashes, the umbrella twirls – all brought gleefully to full life by Starr, who’s a tad lankier than Kelly and, so, whose interpretation brought to mind a young Dick Van Dyke.
With all his performers, Stafford has struck the right balance between recreating Kelly’s deservedly famous dances and drawing on the unique abilities of this most talented cast.
Daunting as it must be for these actors to step into their roles, he has clearly guided them to confidence. When they’re so obviously having the time of their lives, it’s hard for the audience not to as well.
Then there’s Lina Lamont, the silent-screen movie star whose nails-on-the-chalkboard speaking voice could end her career with the coming of sound. Erica Lee Bigelow has the comic nasality and sloppy diction that helped earn her movie counterpart Jean Hagen an Oscar nomination for the role, but makes hers even whinier and all the more hilarious.
As she devolves into the show’s full-blown villainess and is even given a second act solo, her increasing stridency primes the audience for her eventual comeuppance.
The supporting cast is also flush with talent, from Steve Brady as the studio head trying to keep up with changing technology; Patrick Richwood as a frazzled director comically striving to get one decent take with usable audio; and Stacia Fernandez pulling double duty as the Hedda Hopper-like gossip maven and the very funny elocution teacher attempting to get Lina to speak properly.
In adapting their original screenplay Comden and Green retained the iconic bits that have taken the movie to the top of many Best Musicals Ever lists. So, the silly “love at first sight” sledgehammer they tacked on to Don and Kathy’s first meeting, rather than letting their initial friction smooth its way into romance, is a little bewildering.
And the big Act Two “Broadway Melody” dance piece is as weirdly out of place here as it was in the 1952 film and certainly in the show’s 1927 milieu. But because it’s so well performed, and even the characters comment on how awkwardly it’s wedged into the proceedings, all is forgiven. A shout-out, too, to the incredibly talented ensemble dancers.
The technical aspects of the show are remarkable: Cliff Simon’s scenic design – did I mention it RAINS?!; Kurt Alger’s bazillion period wigs and eye-popping jazz-age costumes; Julie Duro’s lighting; and Craig Beyrooti’s sound designs.
Kudos also to the artists and technicians who produced the well-shot and edited black-and-white “silent film” segments so essential to the story.
Music Director Bruce Barnes leads 10 musicians in the pit through the score of standards, many of which became hits in the wake of the movie’s release.
“Singin’ in the Rain” runs through March 21 at the Riverside Theatre, 3250 Riverside Park Dr., Vero Beach. Tickets are available online at RiversideTheatre.com or by calling the box office at 772-231-6990.
Photos by Angel Udel Hoven
