Singin' on the Stage
euite a few years back in 1984 on a trip to London, I saw a stage production based on the movie, Singin' in the Rain. It starred Tommy Steele, who also directed. The show was quite successful, and I quite enjoyed it. It came to Broadway the next year, though in a changed form I believe, directed and choreographed by Twyla Tharp, so I have to believe it got restaged completely. Still, it ran for 367 performances.
One of the treats in London was seeing Roy Castle as Cosmo maniacally perform "Make Him Laugh" every night, bouncing all over the place. But of course the real anticipation was how in the world would they do the title song -- live, on stage??!
Well, they did. A huge platform was rolled out on stage with low ridges all around to catch the water and make a sort of pool. And down the rain came. It was really a treat and well done.
Once upon a time there was a video of Tommy Steele performing this on a TV show with a little girl whose dream was to be on stage, and the show paired them up. She was taught the number, and the two performed the song together. But try as I might, I can't find it anymore. It might have been taken down.
So, this will have to suffice. Apparently the show was revived, and this is the star of that production, Adam Cooper, re-creating "Singin’ in the Rain" at the Royal Variety Performance in 2011. Honestly, I think he's just okay, a little stilted and not with any of the exuberance of Tommy Steele (let alone Gene Kelly). But it's fun nonetheless.
And it gives you a chance to see how they did "Singin' in the Rain" live, on stage.
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