Well, this was delightful.
It was a textbook example of the American Musical, lively and entertaining from start to finish. Director Bill Jenkins is to be commended for assembling a great team and orchestrating a really fine show. The leads are great, and doubly so for stepping into such giant roles with confidence. It’s a daring feat for an actor to step into the shoes of Gene Kelly, or Donald O’Connor; Tony Yazbeck and Matthew Crowle do it and do it well.
But they’re not the only ones on stage doing good work. The cast is uniformly wonderful. Jenkins gets the best out of every one of his ensemble members. They rocket through endless costume changes to provide dozens of incidental characters about the stage - all played with enthusiasm, craft, and attention to detail.
A show like this doesn’t go from good to great without a crack squad of designers and technicians behind the scenes making the magic happen, and here Jenkins has again chosen well. Kevin Depinet’s scenery is just the right balance of spectacular and understated, and it’s complemented beautifully by Julie Mack’s lighting - a textbook example of how to use a well apportioned theater to tell a story.
As for the story - it’s Singin’ in the Rain. Great fun. If you haven’t seen the movie, don’t: go see this show. It’ll be a treat. You’ll probably recognize a song or two. Enjoy!
Reviewed by Centerstage!
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