New Wimbledon Theatre – until 2nd July 2022
Reviewed by Alun Hood
4****
Previously seen at Chichester, in the West End, in Japan, and last year in a triumphant post-Covid reopening season at Sadlers Wells, Jonathan Church’s glossy stage version of the classic movie musical continues to splash it’s way around the country. This national tour dispenses bucketloads of escapist happiness, powered by Andrew Wright’s elegant but rousing choreography, and a couple of lead performances that manage to improve upon their stage predecessors. This is one of those uncommon occasions where the touring edition is actually better than the original.
The new male leads Sam Lips and Ross McLaren may not have the name recognition of Adam Cooper and Kevin Clifton who played, respectively, screen idol Don Lockwood and his all round good guy sidekick Cosmo when this production was last in London, but give exquisitely judged performances of real charm and dynamism: they both shine like stars. Broadway veteran Lips is so good looking one could imagine him lighting up a cinema screen, which indeed he does in some of the highly entertaining pre-filmed sections, but he also dances with an entrancing muscularity and athleticism, and has a rich, expressive singing voice. Gene Kelly was unforgettable in this role originally, but you’re unlikely to miss him much here.
McLaren’s deeply lovable Cosmo, infused with a kookie, irresistible joke de vivre, has the oddly touching demeanour of a true clown, and dances like a dream. The male leads have great chemistry and the flashback sequences showing the men at the outset of their career fizz delightfully. They’re a cracking double act.
In last year’s Sadlers Wells season, Charlotte Gooch, as the struggling actress who captures Don’s heart, looked and sounded so much like a star from the get-go, that the story was robbed of some of it’s will they-won’t they tension. She’s still stunning but has since acquired a welcome vulnerability that gives the character a more satisfying arc. Sandra Dickinson, Dale Rapley and Michael Matus are wonderfully funny and vivid as a variety of stock Hollywood yesteryear types, and the tightly drilled ensemble are exhilarating to watch, with Harriet Samuel-Gray as an astonishing solo dancer.
The show-stealing performance however, in an absolute gift of a part, comes from Jenny Gayner as Lina Lamont, the silent movie star with a vowel-mangling voice like nails scraping down a blackboard; she’s as spiteful as she’s soignée, and, despite the inconvenient (for her) arrival of the Talkies, determined to cling onto her stardom with every last grasp of her elegantly manicured hands. Gayner is a knockout: appropriately glamorous, screamingly funny but, crucially, finding the woman’s humanity, which makes for a completely rounded performance in a role that too often gets reduced to a great wardrobe and a funny voice. Her “What’s Wrong With Me?” solo, where Lina ponders why romantic matters aren’t necessarily going her way, is a masterclass in musical comedy playing. She’s practically luminous, and, however nasty she is, you miss her when she’s not onstage.
Slick, timeless joy is the name of the game here, from the beautifully choreographed opening which sees the company magically conjure out of thin air Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in LA on a movie premiere night in 1927, to a familiar, yet still irresistibly fresh, title number where Lips’s Lockwood joyfully kicks and bowls real water into the front Stalls. The filmed sections, demonstrating the technical issues that the advent of Talking Pictures brought (unwanted background noise, inaudibility at key moments), remain great fun, and Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed’s songs still enchant.
It is all highly entertaining, and if it appeals more to the eye and ear than to the heart that’s probably because this was never supposed to be a stage property. Still, this is a superb production: Simon Higlett’s sets and costumes, Tim Mitchell’s lighting and Gareth Owen’s especially good sound design hit all the major sweet spots.
Most people will come to Singin In The Rain for glamorous escapism and feel-good nostalgia, and they won’t be disappointed: this lavish spectacle, and this glorious cast, deliver those in spades. Lovely stuff.