Singin' In The Rain

Norfolk and Norwich Operatic Society celebrates its centenary this year, and theirbreathtaking production of 'Singin' In The Rain' is possibly their most ambitious yet. With a cast led by Alex Green and Emily Johnson as 1920’s Hollywood movie stars Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont, NNOS have cemented their reputation as one of the country's leading amateur companies.

Widely regarded as the greatest musical movie of all time, Betty Alden and Adolph Green's award-winning ’Singin’ In The Rain’ is set in Hollywood, just as 'the talkies' have arrived and are threatening to turn the film world on its head. This stage adaptation first opened at the London Palladium in 1983 with a cast led by Tommy Steele. Since then, the show has run on Broadway, and toured all around the world. Now, thanks to NNOS, Norwich audiences are getting a chance to savour the show all this week at Norwich Theatre Royal.

An impressive 17 piece band, led by Kevin Bell, are hidden from us behind the translucent stage backdrop that doubles as a projection screen. The reason is revealed later but, for the time being, we are transported back to the Hollywood of 1927, where silent movie star Lina Lamont's high pitched voice and grating vowel sounds are causing all kinds of problems for sound engineers attempting to record them for Monumental Studio's very first talking feature. The story is legend, but Alex Green and Emily Johnson each bring their characters to life with a freshness and vivacity that is both scintillating and spectacular. Partnering them on stage are Dan Moore as Cosmo Brown (Lockwood's friend, dancer, and fellow actor), and Kimberley Mason as Lockwood’s new love interest Kathy Seldon. Together, they form a dynamic quartet, supported by a supporting cast that never seems to put a foot wrong. The dancing and the singing are an absolute delight, from Don and Cosmo’s early ‘Fit As A Fiddle’ routine, to the legendary ‘Broadway Melody’ as we approach the end of Act Two. Along the way, Cosmo’s energetic ‘Make ‘Em Laugh’, the elocutory ‘Moses Supposes’, and the reveille-like ‘Good Morning’, each have us tapping our feet.

But it is the scene-stealing ‘Singin’ In The Rain’, performed at the end of Act One (and reprised by the full company at the end of Act Two), that audiences will be talking about on the way home. Performed on a stage extension that fits over the usual orchestra pit, Alex Green certainly enjoys himself as he splashes around, just a few metres away from the audience.

Spectacular is a much over-used word in the theatre, and yet it is not inappropriate to use when describing this Norfolk and Norwich Operatic Society centenary production of ‘Singin‘ In The Rain‘. Full marks to the company’s entire creative team, led by director and choreographer Chris Cuming, and to the huge ensemble cast of actors and dancers who come together to make the show such a trulysensational show. Go see.