Jonathan Church’s crowd-pleasing revival of Singin’ In The Rain was a massive hit in the West End and this tour, with a different cast, sets out to ensure the regions experience the same quality. This is a fantastically feel-good evening of musical theatre.
It helps that the bare bones of Church’s take on the 1952 film are so well-crafted. The Oscar-winning film The Artist last year makes the narrative of silent movie stars making the uneasy transition into talkies relevant and interesting. And just like The Artist, Singin’ In The Rain is playful with its subject matter. There are hilarious mini-screenings of silent movies, and Faye Tozer is wonderful as the squeaky leading lady Lina Lamont, struggling to deal with speaking lines and singing songs. Somehow, she manages to imbue her fantastically annoying character with layers of pathos – not an easy task.
Of course, the show is really about Don Lockwood, played by James Leece, and his move on up-and-coming star Kathy (Amy Ellen Richardson). Leece has Sadler’s Wells credits behind him so, in a show with so much impressive choreography, he’s the perfect fit as the suave Lockwood.
If there’s more chemistry in Leece’s slapstick relationship with Stephane Anelli (who plays Cosmo Brown with easy charm), then that’s fine – Anelli gives the show a momentum which doesn’t sag when some of the main characters are off stage. And when the entire cast join together to joyfully splash about the stage one last time it’s with genuine glee – they know they’re part of something special.
