Monday, February 27, 2012

London West End Singin' In The Rain Musical

By James London


From the golden age of musicals for the West Finish, Singin' In the Rain brings the glamour in the MGM film towards the Palace theatre. Set at a time of modify inside the film world, Singin' In the Rain follows silent movie star Dan Lockwood who has everything he could ever want; fame, adulation and also a well-publicised romance with his co-star Lina Lamont. But there are rumours performing the rounds of a new kind of film that could alter everything, a sort of film exactly where actors speak... and sing... and dance.

Singin' in the Rain may be the story of that 1st Hollywood musical, the moment when the silver screen found its voice and by no means looked back. With all of the sparkle and spectacle of a golden age, it capabilities a glorious score including Make 'em Laugh, Good Morning, Moses Supposes and, of course, Singin' inside the Rain. Shining with vitality, wit and romance, this really is a musical to lift your heart and set you singin' and dancin'-in any weather.

Singin' in the Rain is really a 1952 American comedy musical film starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds and directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, with Kelly also supplying the choreography. It delivers a comic depiction of Hollywood, and its transition from silent films to "talkies."

Despite the fact that it was not a huge hit when very first released, it was accorded its legendary status by modern critics. It's now often described as one particular of the best musicals ever created,topping the AFI's 100 Years of Musicals list, and ranking fifth in its updated list of the greatest American films in 2007.

Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) is really a well-liked silent film star with humble roots as a singer, dancer and stunt man. Don barely tolerates his vapid, shallow leading lady, Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), although their studio, Monumental Photos, links them romantically to boost their recognition. Lina herself is convinced they may be in enjoy, despite Don's protestations otherwise.

One day, to escape from fans, Don jumps into a passing car driven by Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds). She drops him off, but not prior to claiming to be a stage actress and sneering at his undignified accomplishments. At very first, she pretends not to understand who he is, but later within the film, she admits that she knew who he was all along and is also a massive fan. Later, at a party, the head of Don's studio, R.F. Simpson (Millard Mitchell), shows a brief demonstration of a Vitaphone talking picture ("...My voice has been recorded on a record...") which pays homage towards the original 1921 DeForest Phonofilm demonstration featuring DeForest himself explaining the technique, but his guests are unimpressed.

To Don's amusement and Kathy's embarrassment, she pops out of a mock cake appropriate in front of him as portion from the entertainment; Kathy, it turns out, is actually a chorus girl. Furious at Don's teasing, she throws a genuine cake at him, only to hit Lina appropriate inside the face. Later, following weeks of searching, Don makes up with Kathy following he finds her working in one more Monumental Images production, and they start to fall in really like.

Following a rival studio has an enormous hit with its very first talking picture, 1927's The Jazz Singer, R.F. decides he has no option but to convert the new Lockwood and Lamont film, The Dueling Cavalier, into a talkie. The production is beset with issues that reportedly reflect what actually took place through the early days of talking photos. By far the worst dilemma is Lina's grating voice. An exasperated diction coach tried to teach her the way to speak appropriately, but to no avail. A test screening can be a disaster. In one scene, Don repeats the line "I really like you" to Lina over and over, towards the audience's derisive laughter (a reference to a scene by John Gilbert in his initial talkie). Then within the middle from the movie, the sound goes out of synchronization.

Don's greatest friend, Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor), comes up with the notion to dub Lina's voice with Kathy's, and they persuade R.F. to turn The Dueling Cavalier into a musical named The Dancing Cavalier, full with a contemporary musical quantity called "Broadway Melody". When Lina finds out, she is furious and does anything achievable to sabotage the romance among Don and Kathy. She becomes even angrier when she discovers that R.F. intends to give Kathy a screen credit plus a massive publicity promotion. Lina, right after consulting lawyers, threatens to sue R.F. unless he cancels Kathy's buildup and orders her to continue operating (uncredited) as Lina's voice. R.F. reluctantly agrees to her demands

The premiere from the Dancing Cavalier is actually a tremendous accomplishment. When the audience clamors for Lina to sing live, Don, Cosmo, and R.F. improvise and get her to lip sync into the microphone while Kathy, hidden behind the stage curtain, sings into a second one particular. Although Lina is "singing," Don, Cosmo and R.F. gleefully open the curtain. The deception becomes apparent when Cosmo replaces Kathy at the microphone. Now exposed as a fraud, Lina flees in embarrassment. Kathy tries to run away also, but Don introduces the audience to "the actual star of the film." The final shot shows Kathy and Don kissing in front of a billboard for their new movie, Singin' in the Rain.




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