Stage adaptation of classic 'Singin' in the Rain' spoofs the early days of Hollywood

Feel like a deluge of MGM musical tropes? The Players Centre’s production of “Singin’ in the Rain” will do the job.

It’s Betty Comden and Adolph Green’s theatrical adaptation of their screenplay for the 1952 movie. With one exception, the songs are a grab bag from the MGM catalog.

The musical pokes fun at the early days of Hollywood. It unfolds at the dawn of talking pictures and the last gasp of the silent era. In real life, that was a problem for actors with irritating or mismatched voices. 

In the musical, that’s a problem for the pretty but talentless Lina Lamont (Vera Samuels), who sounds like Betty Boop’s less intelligent sister. The studio bills her as the real life fiancée of her romantic partner on screen  —Don Lockwood (Logan Junkins), a swashbuckling Errol Flynn-type. 

Publicity aside, he’s really in love with Kathy Selden (Jessie Tasetano), a highly talented actress trying to make her break into motion pictures. She gets that break when the studio makes the switch to sound.

The latest Lamont-Lockwood historical romance morphs into a musical — and Lina’s voice makes the test audience cringe. Kathy winds up secretly dubbing her part. But Lina finds out and sparks fly.

I’ve never seen the movie apart from clips of a soggy Gene Kelly dancing on a lamppost and that scene in “A Clockwork Orange.” But seeing this stage production, I knew exactly what was going to happen after the first five minutes.

The plot is utterly predictable. So what? It’s basically an excuse to bombard folks who love musicals with fan service. Specifically, folks who love MGM movie musicals. More specifically, this particular musical.

Director Kathy Junkins, choreographer Brian Finnerty and music director Berry Ayers throw in everything but the kitchen sink. They recreate Gene Kelly’s iconic rain dance, of course — as well as the catchy but preposterous “Broadway Melody.” The movie’s set in France in the 1700s. But the studio head wants a tap-dancing number—and he gets it.

Logan has a lot of fun splashing around in the rain in that iconic “Singin’ in the Rain” number; he’s believable as a swashbuckling male lead. Along with creating the kicky choreography, the multitalented Finnerty takes the role of Cosmo Brown, Don’s former sidekick from the vaudeville days. He’s a great physical comedian, and a great comedian period. The script sets up Vera Samuels to fall. On the page, she’s a rotten person and a rotten actor. You laugh at her, not with her. Vera Samuels redeems this unredeemable role with a fine comic performance. Tesetano’s Kathy combines sweetness with intelligence and true grit. She’s a nice kid, but nobody pushes her around. Including swashbuckling film stars.

It all unfolds in the Technicolor world of Michael Newton-Brown’s set and Tim Beltley’s costumes. This stage musical wants to be a movie. To the extent that it’s humanly possible, they deliver.

The combined force of this talent adds up to a whole lot of fun. Any resemblance to reality is only a coincidence. It’s a 1950s movie musical, reborn on stage. And it has a ’50s sound. The real popular music of the 1920s was vastly different. More horns, less strings. Again, so what?

To music theater fans, the experience is like eating an entire box of chocolates in one sitting. It’s sweet, and all their favorite flavors are in the box.