The musical classic "Singin' in the Rain" hits the Glendale Centre Theatre like a storm, showering the audience with hit songs, spectacular tap dancing and out-of-the world costumes and special effects.
The stage version is based on the 1952 hit film produced by MGM - to whom GCT gives an appreciative "nod" with their beautifully painted stage floor.
Other flats and set pieces around the theater feature the Hollywood skyline and famous lettered sign, the Melrose entrance to Paramount Studios, and the Egyptian, Pantages and Grahman's Chinese theater fronts. The audience is transported into the world of old Hollywood before the show even begins.
Set in the final days of silent-screen movies, the play tells the story of a leading man, his comic, piano-playing sidekick and a hopeful young actress-singer who sing and dance their way into the world of talking moves, leaving the beautiful but shrill-voiced leading lady posturing in the dust.
At times during the play, realistic black-and-white silent film clips featuring the GCT actors are projected on screens on the theater's two side walls, evoking hilarious, over-acted and clichéd images of how movies "used to be made."
Romantic lead, Don Lockwood is played by the tall and talented
Bryan Chesters. Cosmo Brown is played by
Mark Hatfield, whose athletic tap dancing and heart stopping flips "wow" the audience.
Perky and petite
Emily Coddington is amazing as Kathy Selden, the hopeful young actress who becomes Lockwood's love interest. Their duets and dances are sweet and "ah-h" inspiring.
The "Good Morning" musical number performed by Chesters, Hatfield and Coddington is a real crowd pleaser.
Aimee Guichard's performance as Lina Lamont, the leading lady with the nails-on-the-blackboard voice is stunning. Her screeching voice never once falters! (Aimee's natural voice is lovely.)
Donald Petitt and
Tiffani Tendell dance a fantastic tango, and
Amanda Reed Bailey's impersonation of Charlie Chaplin is right on! The full company numbers are fun and flashy, with both gals and guys costumed in all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood in the 1930s.
But certainly the most thrilling and memorable performance of the evening happens when Byran Chesters performs the title song, "Singing in the Rain" - under a REAL DOWNPOUR.
The audience erupted with applause, whistles and cheers that nearly drowned out the music. Kudos to Glendale Centre Theatre for bringing the classic rain-slick street with its signature lamppost and showers of rain to its center stage!
"Singin' in the Rain" plays Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., Saturday matinees at 3 p.m., and two Sunday matinees at 3 p.m., through July 12.
Tickets are $20-$25. Call 818-244-8481 for reservations.
The theater is located at 324 N. Orange St. in Glendale.