If looking for a gold standard of movie musicals, the 1952 Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds tuner Singin' in the Rain should be one of the top nominees; the Brown and Freed score is perky, the Comden and Green script is hilarious and timeless, and Kelly and Stanley Donen's choreography is impressive. In the age of recycling, the musical was transferred to the stage in an ill-advised and unsuccessful 1985 recreation. Why didn't it work? The movie's subject matter is quite at home on celluloid, dealing with the 1927 transition between silent films and talkies. More importantly, the three leading characters are impossible to separate from their originators. How can you not think of Gene Kelly when you hear those familiar strains and see a lamppost, an umbrella, and a rain-swept street? To mount a production, you have to make an audience in the very least favorably compare the show with the source to succeed where original Broadway director Twyla Tharp could not. For Broadway Palm West Dinner Theatre's offering, this nearly impossible challenge is unmet.
M. Seth Reines' direction and Jeremy Benton's interpretation of the original choreography are not directly to blame. The show is energetically presented, if a bit oddly paced on the opening Friday night, and the tap-heavy choreography generally matches expectations. The supporting cast works the show. Reines' choice of a presentational style often works, but only for the ensemble. The actors in the crucial lead roles of Don Lockwood (Trystin Lento), Cosmo Brown (Dennis J. Clark), and Kathy Selden (Lauren Loercher) overplay and underconnect simultaneously, while the consistently funny character of Lina Lamont is inconsistently acted and accented by Patricia Wilcoxson. Lento is tall in a Tommy Tune style, and has the potential to dance us into a spell, but when the feet stop tapping, the magic dissipates. There is never even the hint of a romantic spark between him and Loercher. Their romantic dance numbers together are technically impressive, though emotionally void. Loercher has an odd vocal presentation that makes her speeches (though thankfully not her solid singing) as wrong for talkies as Wilcoxson's appearing and disappearing squeaky voice. The biggest of disappointments, though, is fellow S.U.N.Y. Geneseo alum Clark. Even overmiked, his voice is wispily inaudible, and his takes on the O'Connor character are forced. His big moment, "Make 'em Laugh," is the low point of an over-long first act, with canned facial expressions and jokes that never quite pay off. Nothing stands out more than unsynchronized tap dancing: Clark and Lento are occasionally out of step, especially during their opening "Fit as a Fiddle" sequence.
The selling point of the show, the titled dance sequence, looks great and technically does what it's advertised to do. It is obvious that John C. Rager's set design is poured into this scene. But as good as Lento is at emulating the poses and dance steps of the original, one can't help but notice the brevity of this moment, as well as that of the re-inserted "Broadway Melody" number. This number, left out of the original Tharp Broadway production and replaced with a campy French Revolution number that has fortunately been banished, is like a Cliff Notes version of the original. This is sad, as the dancing of Lento and Samanth L. Hewes (in the role created by Cyd Charisse) begs for more time, as well as more chemistry.
There needs to be a kitschy feel for the piece, as songs like "Moses Supposes" are suited for overplaying, and the ensemble succeeds at this better than the leads. Locals Chris Nickerson and John Haubner play the thin roles of producer and German director broadly, as there's little else for them to do. Kathi Osborne nails her Hedda Hopper-like gossip columnist Dora Bailey, but can't avoid going way-overboard with the uptight, one note Miss Dinsmore.
As the production ultimately left me unsatisfied, the same can be said of the dinner offerings, which weren't even able to repeat the strengths of the first two productions. The chef's consistently unimpressive pasta continues with a Roasted Pepper Stuffed Rigatoni Florentine that a companion said was much too dry. I liked the Beef Stroganoff, though the overboiled clump of Egg Noodles on which to put it is unappealing. The Carved Smoked Turkey is mediocre, while the Coq au Vin Chicken is marginally better. The best of the vegetables is the Hollywood Blend, which isn't as overcooked as the other offerings. The dessert bar has remained lackluster, with an awful slice of Pumpkin Pie balancing an acceptable slice of Lemon Meringue.
The first two productions at Broadway Palm West flew on the strength of their dancing feet. Singin' in the Rain trips over its lack of character chemistry and presentation. While the vehicle is to blame for some of the disappointment, the greatest missteps come when the leads stop dancing and need to connect in other ways.
Production Details:
Singin' in the Rain Screenplay
and Adaptation by Betty Comden and Adolph Green,
Songs by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed
Broadway Palm West
Dinner Theatre, Mesa
(For a map to location,
click this
link)
(480) 325-6700
February 28th - April 20th, 2002