![]() ![]() It reminds me of the time West End legend Bonnie Langford played Dorothy Brock in the tantalising tap-dancing musical 42nd Street. Talking films were obviously hard for cast and crew to wrap their heads around of, but Lamont’s intolerance and idiocy added further complications – to hilarious effect.Īt certain dates, Lamont has been played by Steps’ Faye Tozer – ironic, given Tozer’s impressive vocal abilities. The scene in which her character recorded her first “talkie” has to be one of the funniest scenes I’ve ever seen on stage. ![]() She received the majority of audience laughs. Whilst Gooch’s role allowed her to showcase her impressive vocals, Gaynor brought the real comedy. ![]() She might have actually had more stage time than the female lead, Gooch. However, the show was stolen by Jenny Gaynor ( The Trial), who played the musical’s primary antagonist (kinda), Lina Lamont. The main trio was rounded off with Ross McLaren ( Doctors) as the loveable Cosmo Brown. The female lead, Kathy Selden, was played to perfection by star of the stage, Charlotte Gooch. On screen, Cooper is best-known for playing adult Billy in Billy Elliot. After all, the cast was lead by none other than actor, choreographer, dancer, theatre director and Tony and Olivier nominee Adam Cooper (Don Lockwood). The singing and dancing were unsurprisingly perfect. The colourful costumes also commanded a lot of attention. The set, though not quite sumptuous, was certainly creative – and it was complimented with lovely lighting. That said, this was a marvellous production. I often find myself sat there, wondering, why do I care? It’s not necessarily the shallow stereotypes and problematic storylines I take issue with (heck, Miss Saigon is one of my favourite musicals, and my bedroom is Breakfast at Tiffany’s themed) I just find them a little boring. But the issue I take with stage musicals based on old films is their growing irrelevance. It’s always exciting to see a classic film brought to life. Stage musicals based on old films are fun because they create a sense of nostalgia for a time many of us never even knew (albeit, a time that would actually have been pretty bad for many of us). It’s, indisputably, one of the greatest musical films of all time. Directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, it starred Kelly as Don Lockwood, Donald O’Connor as Cosmo Brown, and Debbie Reynolds as Kathy Selden – with Jean Hagen as Lina Lamont. The iconic movie offers a lighthearted depiction of Hollywood in the late 1920s, with the three stars portraying performers caught up in the transition from silent films to “talkies”. Beyond the title track and numbers like "Wedding of the Painted Doll," there are burlesques of styles that were in vogue at the time, although the soundtrack's really popular numbers are done in a straight popular vein, including one of Gene Kelly's most effective singing performances, "All I Do Is Dream of You.It’s 70 years since Singin’ in the Rain hit the big screen. Drawing on Freed and Brown's output from the 1920s and 1930s, the music provides a vivid portrait of what popular songs were like during the period in which sound came to motion pictures. The movie Singin' in the Rain was one of old Hollywood's rare successful looks at its own history, artistically as well as commercially, and the Arthur Freed/ Nacio Herb Brown score was every bit as impressive as a look back on the history of the musical. ![]()
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