Review Singing In The Rain The Musical at Manchester Opera House
Singing In The Rain the Musical has splashed onto the stage at the Manchester Opera House. We went along to check it out and you can discover what we thought in our review here.
Read on to find out what we thought.
Based on the iconic 1952 movie, Singing in the Rain the Musical is on tour throughout the UK and has arrived in Manchester. We were invited to along to the press night and you can discover what our On The Go Reviewer Amy thought below.
Review Singing In The Rain The Musical.
Adam Cooper stars as Don Lockwood, charismatic star of the silent movie, who along with his onstage screen partner, Lina Lamont (played fantastically by Jenny Gayner) is the toast of Hollywood.
As Hollywood transforms from an industry of silent movies to the new and exciting world of ‘the talkies,’ Lamont struggles to make the transformation. Her glamorous face fits, but her high-pitched, mangled vowels and strangled singing voice (all performed with wonderful comedic timing) require dubbing by sparky actress and Lockwood’s love interest, Kathy Seldon.
Charlotte Gooch gives a polished and impressive performance as the up and coming actress who agrees to lend her voice in order to stop the new Lockwood and Lemont film becoming a Hollywood disaster.
The show remains faithful to the original movie; including the classic songs, Good Morning, Make ‘Em Laugh and of course the sublime, Singing in the Rain. The latter is performed under the backdrop of a full (real) rainstorm which impresses and delights the crowd- although those on the first couple of rows may have been wishing they had brought umbrellas of their own!
The stand out star of the show for us was Ross McLaren as Lockwood’s hardworking sidekick, Cosmo Brown. His rendition of ‘Make ‘Em Laugh,’ is pure slapstick at its best, full of energy, humor and well executed tumbles. He received the biggest cheer of the evening- which was thoroughly well deserved.
The staging and costumes remain true to the vision of the original movie- with glamorous 1920’s flapper girls and dapper men in sharp suits gracing the stage. The staging is simple, yet effective, in line with the 1952 screen-play. The whole experience feels like a refreshing return to the traditional musicals of bygone days.
We thoroughly enjoyed Singing in the Rain. It feels fantastic and authentically retro and is suitable for the whole family. Thankfully, we didn’t need our umbrellas on our journey home- but we definitely had a spring in our step.
You May Also Like…..
[widgetkit id=”69″ name=”You May Also Like Manchester / National /”]
